ERRATA 


"  Woman  in  Science,"  by  H.  J.  Mozans. 

Page  166.  Miss  Charlotte  Angas  Scott  is  recorded,  in 
error,  as  "  recently  deceased."  Miss  Scott  is  still  actively 
engaged  in  her  work  as  Professor  of  Mathematics  at 
Bryn  Mawr. 


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WOMAN 
IN    SCIENCE 

WITH  AN  INTRODUCTORY  CHAPTER 

ON  WOMAN'S  LONG  STRUGGLE 

FOR  THINGS  OF  THE  MIND 


BY 


H.  J.  MOZANS,  A.M.,  Ph.D. 

AUTHOR  OF  "DP  THE  ORINOCO  AND  DOWN  THE  MAGDALENA, 
"ALONG  THE  ANDES  AND  DOWN  THE  AMAZON,"  ETC. 


Que  e  piu  bella  in  donna  que  savere? 
Dante,  Convito. 


NEW  YORK   AND    LONDON 

D.   APPLETON    AND    COMPANY 

1913 


^ 


Copyright,  1913,  BY 
D.  APPLETON  AND  COMPANY 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


TO 

MRS.  CHARLES  M.  SCHWAB 

AS  A  SLIGHT  TRIBUTE 

TO   HER   CHARMING   PERSONALITY 

GOODNESS  OF  HEART  AND   NOBILITY  OP  SOUL 

THIS   VOLUME 

IS   RESPECTFULLY   DEDICATED 

WITH  THE  BEST  WISHES  OF 

THE  AUTHOR. 


333804 


PREFACE 

The  following  pages  are  the  outcome  of  studies  begun  many 
years  ago  in  Greece  and  Italy.  While  wandering  through  the 
famed  and  picturesque  land  of  the  Hellenes,  rejoicing  in  the 
countless  beauties  of  the  islands  of  the  Ionian  and  JEgean  seas 
or  scaling  the  heights  of  Helicon  and  Parnassus,  all  so  redolent 
of  the  storied  past,  I  saw  on  every  side  tangible  evidence  of 
that  marvelous  race  of  men  and  women  whose  matchless  achieve- 
ments have  been  the  delight  and  inspiration  of  the  world  for 
nearly  three  thousand  years.  But  it  was  especially  while  con- 
templating, from  the  portico  of  the  Parthenon,  the  magnificent 
vista  which  there  meets  the  charmed  vision,  that  I  first  fully 
experienced  the  spell  of  the  favored  land  of  Hellas,  so  long  the 
home  of  beauty  and  of  intellect.  The  scene  before  me  was 
indeed  enchanting  beyond  expression;  for,  every  ruin,  every 
marble  column,  every  rock  had  its  history,  and  evoked  the  most 
precious  memories  of  men  of  godlike  thoughts  and  of 

"A  thousand  glorious  actions  that  may  claim 
Triumphal  laurels  and  immortal  fame." 

It  was  a  tranquil  and  balmy  night  in  midsummer.  The  sun, 
leaving  a  gorgeous  afterglow,  had  about  an  hour  before  dis- 
appeared behind  the  azure-veiled  mountains  of  Ithaca,  where, 
in  the  long  ago,  lived  and  loved  the  hero  and  the  heroine  of  the 
incomparable  Odyssey.  The  full  moon,  just  rising  above  the 
plain  of  Marathon,  intensified  the  witchery  of  that  memorable 
spot  consecrated  by  the  valor  of  patriots  battling  victoriously 
against  the  invading  hordes  of  Asia.  Hard  by  was  the  Areopa- 
gus, where  St.  Paul  preached  to  the  "superstitious"  Athenians 
on  "The  Unknown  God."  Almost  adjoining  it  was  the  Agora, 
where  Socrates  was  wont  to  hold  converse  with  noble  and  simple 
on  the  sublimest  questions  which  can  engage  the  human  mind. 
Not  distant  was   the  site   of   the   celebrated   "Painted   Porch," 


viii  PREFACE 

where  Zeno  developed  his  famous  system  of  ethics.  In  another 
quarter  were  the  shady  walks  of  the  Lyceum,  where  Aristotle, 
"the  master  of  those  who  know,"  lectured  before  an  admiring 
concourse  of  students  from  all  parts  of  Hellas.  Farther  afield, 
on  the  banks  of  the  Cephissus,  was  the  grove  of  Academus, 
where  the  divine  Plato  expounded  that  admirable  idealism 
which,  with  Aristotelianism,  has  controlled  the  progress  of  spec- 
ulative thought  for  more  than  twenty  centuries,  and  enunciated 
those  admirable  doctrines  which  have  become  the  common  her- 
itage of  humanity. 

But  where,  in  this  venerable  city — "the  eye  of  Greece,  mother 
of  arts  and  eloquence" — was  the  abode  of  Aspasia,  the  wife  of 
Pericles  and  the  inspirer  of  the  noblest  minds  of  the  Golden  Age 
of  Grecian  civilization?  Where  was  that  salon,  renowned  these 
four  and  twenty  centuries  as  the  most  brilliant  court  of  culture 
the  world  has  ever  known,  wherein  this  gifted  and  accomplished 
daughter  of  Miletus  gathered  about  her  the  most  learned  men 
and  women  of  her  time?  Whatever  the  location,  there  it  was 
that  the  wit  and  talent  of  Attica  found  a  congenial  trysting- 
place,  and  human  genius  burst  into  fairest  blossom.  There  it 
was  that  poets,  sculptors,  painters,  orators,  philosophers,  states- 
men were  all  equally  at  home.  There  Socrates  discoursed  on 
philosophy;  there  Euripides  and  Sophocles  read  their  plays; 
there  Anaxagoras  dilated  upon  the  nature  and  constitution  of 
the  universe;  there  Phidias,  the  greatest  sculptor  of  all  time, 
and  Ictinus  and  Callicrates  unfolded  their  plans  for  that  supreme 
creation  of  architecture,  the  temple  of  Athena  Parthenos  on  the 
Acropolis.  Like  Michaelangelo,  long  centuries  afterwards, 
who  "saw  with  the  eyes  and  acted  by  the  inspiration"  of  Vit- 
toria  Colonna,  these  masters  of  Greek  architecture  and  sculpture 
saw  with  the  eyes  and  acted  by  the  sublime  promptings  of 
Aspasia,  who  was  the  greatest  patron  and  inspirer  of  men  of 
genius  the  world  has  ever  known. 

I  felt  then,  as  I  feel  now,  that  this  superb  monument  to  the 
virgin  goddess  of  wisdom  and  art  and  science  was  in  great 
measure  a  monument  to  the  one  who  by  her  quick  intelligence, 
her  profound  knowledge,  her  inspiration,  her  patronage,  her 
influence,  had  so  much  to  do  with  its  erection — the  wise,  the 
cultured,  the  richly  dowered  Aspasia, 


PREFACE  k 

This  thought  it  was  that  started  the  train  of  reflections  on  the 
intellectual  achievements  of  women  which  eventually  gave  rise 
to  the  idea  of  writing  a  book  on  woman's  work  in  things  of  the 
mind. 

The  following  day,  as  I  was  entering  the  University  of  Athens, 
I  noticed  above  the  stately  portal  a  large  and  beautiful  paint- 
ing which,  on  inspection,  proved,  to  my  great  delight,  to  be 
nothing  less  than  a  pictorial  representation  of  my  musings  the 
night  before  on  the  portico  of  the  Parthenon.  For  there  was 
Aspasia,  just  as  I  had  fancied  her  in  her  salon,  seated  beside 
Pericles,  and  surrounded  by  the  greatest  and  the  wisest  men  of 
Greece.  "This,"  I  exclaimed,  "shall  be  the  frontispiece  of  my 
book;  it  will  tell  more  than  many  pages  of  text."  Nor  did  I 
rest  till  I  had  procured  a  copy  of  this  excellent  work  of  art. 

Shortly  after  my  journey  through  Greece  I  visited  the  chief 
cities  and  towns  of  Italy.  I  traversed  the  whole  of  Magna 
Grsecia  and,  to  enjoy  the  local  color  of  things  Grecian  and 
breathe,  as  far  as  might  be,  the  atmosphere  which  once  en- 
veloped the  world's  greatest  thinkers,  I  stood  on  the  spot  in 
Syracuse  where  Plato  discoursed  on  the  true,  the  beautiful  and 
the  good,  before  enthusiastic  audiences  of  men  and  women,  and 
wandered  through  the  land  inhabited  by  the  ancient  Bruttii, 
where  Pythagoras  has  his  famous  school  of  science  and  philos- 
ophy— a  school  which  was  continued  after  the  founder's  death 
by  his  celebrated  wife,  Theano.  For  in  Crotona,  as  well  as  in 
Athens,  and  in  Alexandria  in  the  time  of  Hypatia,  women  were 
teachers  as  well  as  scholars,  and  attained  to  marked  distinction 
in  every  branch  of  intellectual  activity. 

As  I  visited,  one  after  the  other,  what  were  once  the  great 
centers  of  learning  and  culture  in  Magna  Graecia,  the  idea  of 
writing  the  book  aforementioned  appealed  to  me  more  strongly 
from  day  to  day,  but  it  did  not  assume  definite  form  until  after 
I  had  tarried  for  some  weeks  or  months  in  each  of  the  great 
university  towns  of  Italy.  And  as  I  wended  my  way  through 
the  almost  deserted  streets  of  Salerno,  which  was  for  centuries 
one  of  the  noblest  seats  of  learning  in  Christendom,  and  recalled 
the  achievements  of  its  gifted  daughters — those  wonderful 
mulieres  Salernitance,  whose  praises  were  once  sounded  through- 
out  Europe,   but  whose  names   have  been   almost   forgotten — I 


x  PREFACE 

began  to  realize,  as  never  before,  that  women  of  intellectual 
eminence  have  received  too  little  credit  for  their  contributions 
to  the  progress  of  knowledge,  and  should  have  a  sympathetic 
historian  of  what  they  have  achieved  in  the  domain  of  learning. 

But  it  was  not  until  after  I  had  visited  the  great  university 
towns  of  Bologna,  Padua  and  Pavia,  had  become  more  familiar 
with  their  fascinating  histories  and  traditions,  and  surveyed 
there  the  scenes  of  the  great  scholastic  triumphs  of  women  as 
students  and  professors,  that  I  fully  realized  the  importance,  if 
not  the  necessity,  of  such  a  work  as  I  had  in  contemplation. 
For  then,  as  when  standing  in  silent  meditation  on  the  pronaos 
of  the  Parthenon,  the  past  seemed  to  become  present,  and  the 
graceful  figures  of  those  illustrious  daughters  of  Italia  la  Bella, 
who  have  conferred  such  honor  on  both  their  country  and  on 
womankind  throughout  the  world,  seemed  to  flit  before  me  as 
they  returned  to  and  from  their  lecture  halls  and  laboratories, 
where  their  discourses,  in  flowing  Latin  periods,  had  commanded 
the  admiration  and  the  applause  of  students  from  every  Euro- 
pean country,  from  the  Rock  of  Cashel  to  the  Athenian 
Acropolis. 

Only  then  did  the  magnitude  and  the  difficulty  of  my  self- 
imposed  task  begin  to  dawn  upon  me.  I  saw  that  it  would  be 
impossible,  if  I  were  to  do  justice  to  the  subject,  to  compass  in 
a  single  volume  anything  like  an  adequate  account  of  the  contri- 
butions of  women  to  the  advancement  of  general  knowledge.  I 
accordingly  resolved  to  restrict  my  theme  and  confine  myself  to 
an  attempt  to  show  what  an  important  role  women  have  played 
in  the  development  of  those  branches  of  knowledge  in  which 
they  are  usually  thought  to  have  had  but  little  part. 

The  subject  of  my  book  thus,  by  a  process  of  elimination, 
narrowed  its  scope  to  woman's  achievements  in  science.  Many 
works  in  various  languages  had  been  written  on  what  women 
had  accomplished  in  art,  literature,  and  statecraft,  and  there 
was,  therefore,  no  special  call  for  a  new  volume  on  any  of  these 
topics.  But,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  brief  monographs  in 
German,  French  and  Italian,  and  an  occasional  magazine 
article  here  and  there,  practically  nothing  had  been  written 
about  woman  in  science.  The  time,  then,  seemed  opportune  for 
entering  upon  a  field  that  had  thus  far  been  almost  completely 


PREFACE  xi 

neglected;  and,  although  I  soon  discovered  that  the  labor  in- 
volved would  be  far  greater  than  I  had  anticipated,  I  never  lost 
sight  of  the  work  which  had  its  virtual  inception  in  the  peerless 
sanctuary  of  Pallas  Athena  in  the  "City  of  the  Violet  Crown." 

Duties  and  occupations  innumerable  have  retarded  the  prog- 
ress of  the  work.  But  not  the  least  cause  of  delay  has  been  the 
difficulty  of  locating  the  material  essential  to  the  production  of 
a  volume  that  would  do  even  partial  justice  to  the  numerous 
topics  requiring  treatment.  My  experience,  parva  componere 
magnis,  was  not  unlike  that  of  Dr.  Johnson,  who  tells  us  in  the 
preface  to  his  Dictionary  of  the  English  Language,  "I  saw  that 
one  inquiry  only  gave  occasion  to  another,  that  book  referred  to 
book,  that  to  search  was  not  always  to  find,  and  that  thus  to 
pursue  perfection  was,  like  the  first  inhabitants  of  Arcadia,  to 
chase  the  sun,  which,  when  they  reached  the  hill  where  he 
seemed  to  rest,  was  still  beheld  at  the  same  distance  from  them." 

Although  I  have  endeavored  to  give  a  place  in  this  work  to 
all  women  who  have  achieved  special  distinction  in  science,  it  is 
not  unlikely  that  I  may  have  inadvertently  overlooked  some, 
particularly  among  those  of  recent  years,  who  were  deserving  of 
mention.  Should  this  be  the  case,  I  shall  be  grateful  for  in- 
formation which  will  enable  me  to  correct  such  oversights  and 
render  the  volume,  should  there  be  a  demand  for  more  than  one 
edition,  more  complete  and  serviceable.  And,  although  I  have 
striven  to  be  as  accurate  as  possible  in  all  my  statements,  I  can 
scarcely  hope,  in  traversing  so  broad  a  field,  to  have  been  wholly 
successful.  For  all  shortcomings,  whether  through  omission  or 
commission, 

"Quas  aut  incuria  fudit, 
Aut  humana  parum  cavit  natura," 

I  crave  the  reader's  indulgence,  and  trust  that  the  present  vol- 
ume will  have  at  least  the  merit  of  stimulating  some  ambitious 
young  Whewell  to  explore  more  thoroughly  the  interesting  field 
that  I  have  but  partially  reconnoitred,  and  give  us  ere  long  an 
adequate  and  comprehensive  history  of  the  achievements  of 
woman,  not  only  in  the  inductive  but  in  all  the  sciences. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.    Woman's  Long  Struggle  for  Things  of  the  Mind  1 

II.    Woman's  Capacity  for  Scientific  Pursuits  .        .  106 

III.  Women  in  Mathematics 136 

IV.  Women  in  Astronomy 167 

V.    Women  in  Physics 197 

VI.    Women  in  Chemistry 214 

VII.    Women  in  the  Natural  Sciences  ....  233 

VIII.    Women  in  Medicine  and  Surgery  ....  266 

IX.    Women  in  Archaeology 309 

X.    Women  as  Inventors 334 

XI.    Women    as    Inspirers    and    Collaborators    in 

Science 356 

XII.    The  Future  of  Women  in   Science:   Summary 

and  Epilogue 390 

Bibliography 419 

Index 427 


Le  donne  son  venule  in  excellenza 
Di  ciascun'arte,  ove  hanno  post  a  cur  a; 
E  qualunque  all'istorie  dbbia  avvertenza, 
Ne  sente  ancor  la  fama  non  oscura. 

What  art  so  deep,  what  science  so  high, 
But  worthy  women  have  thereto  attained? 
Who  Ust  in  stories  old  to  look  may  try, 
And  find  my*,  speech  herein  not  false  nor  fain'd. 

Ariosto,  Orlando  Furioso, 
Canto  XX,  Strophe  2. 

Ad  omnem  igitur  doctrinam muliebres 

animos  natura  comparavit. 

Maria  Gaetana  A«nesi. 


WOMAN  IN  SCIENCE 

CHAPTER  I 

WOMAN'S  LONG  STRUGGLE  FOR  THINGS   OF  THE  MIND 

WOMAN  AND  EDUCATION  IN  ANCIENT  GREECE 

I  purpose  to  review  the  progress  and  achievements  of 
woman  in  science  from  her  earliest  efforts  in  ancient  Greece 
down  to  the  present  time.  I  shall  relate  how,  in  every  de- 
partment of  natural  knowledge,  when  not  inhibited  by  her 
environment,  she  has  been  the  colleague  and  the  emulatress, 
if  not  the  peer,  of  the  most  illustrious  men  who  have  con- 
tributed to  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  human  learning. 
But  a  proper  understanding  of  this  subject  seems  to  re- 
quire some  preliminary  survey  of  the  many  and  diverse 
obstacles  which,  in  every  age  of  the  world's  history,  have 
opposed  woman's  advancement  in  general  knowledge. 
"Without  such  preliminary  survey  it  is  impossible  to  realize 
the  intensity  of  her  age-long  struggle  for  freedom  and 
justice  in  things  of  the  mind  or  fully  to  appreciate  the 
comparative  liberty  and  advantages  she  now  enjoys  in  al- 
most every  department  of  intellectual  activity.  Neither 
could  one  understand  why  woman 's  achievements  in  science, 
compared  with  those  of  men,  have  been  so  few  and  of  so 
small  import,  especially  in  times  past,  or  why  it  is  that, 
as  a  student  of  nature  or  as  an  investigator  in  the  various 
realms  of  pure  and  applied  science,  we  hear  so  little  of 
her  before  the  second  half  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

To  exhibit  the  nature  of  the  difficulties  woman  has  had 
to  contend  with  in  every  age  and  in  every  land,  in  order 

1 


2  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

to  secure  what  we  now  consider  her  inalienable  rights  to 
things  of  the  mind,  it  is  not  necessary  to  review  the  history 
of  female  education,  or  to  enter  into  the  details  of  her 
gradual  progress  forward  and  upward  in  the  New  and 
Old  Worlds.  But  it  is  necessary  that  we  should  know 
what  was  the  attitude  of  mankind  toward  woman's  educa- 
tion during  the  leading  epochs  of  the  world's  history  and 
what  were,  until  almost  our  own  day,  the  opinions  of  men — 
scholars  and  rulers  included — respecting  the  nature  and 
the  duties  of  woman  and  what  was  considered,  almost  by 
all,  her  proper  sphere  of  action.  Understanding  the  nu- 
merous and  cruel  handicaps  which  she  had  so  long  to  en- 
dure, the  opposition  to  her  aspirations  which  she  had  to 
encounter,  even  during  the  most  enlightened  periods  of  the 
world's  history,  and  that,  too,  from  those  who  should  have 
been  the  first  to  extend  to  her  a  helping  hand,  we  can  the 
better  appreciate  the  extent  of  her  recent  intellectual  en- 
franchisement and  of  the  value  of  the  work  she  has  accom- 
plished since  she  has  been  free  to  exercise  those  God-given 
faculties  which  were  so  long  held  in  restraint. 

The  first  great  bar  to  the  mental  development  of  woman 
was  the  assumed  superiority  of  the  male  sex,  the  opinion, 
so  generally  accepted,  that,  in  the  scheme  of  creation, 
woman  was  but  "an  accident,  an  imperfection,  an  error  of 
nature";  that  she  was  either  a  slave  conducing  to  man's 
comfort,  or,  at  best,  a  companion  ministering  to  his  amuse- 
ment and  pleasure. 

From  the  earliest  times  she  was  regarded  as  man's  in- 
ferior and  relegated  to  a  subordinate  position  in  society. 
She  was,  so  it  was  averred,  but  a  diminutive  man — a  kind 
of  mean  between  the  lord  of  creation  and  the  rest  of  the 
animal  kingdom.  By  some  she  was  considered  a  kind  of 
half  man;  by  others,  as  was  cynically  asserted,  she  was 
looked  upon  as  a  mas  occasionatus — a  man  marred  in  the 
making.  She  was,  both  mentally  and  physically,  what 
Spencer  would  call  a  man  whose  evolution  had  been  ar- 


m  %  WOMAN'S    LONG    STRUGGLE  3 

■tested,  while  man,  as  in  the  modern  language  of  Darwin, 
^was  a  woman,  whose  evolution  had  been  completed. 

When  such  views  prevailed,  it  was  inevitable  that,  so 
long  as  physical  force  was  the  force  majeure,  a  woman 
should  be  relegated  to  the  position  of  a  slave  or  to  that  of 
1 1  a  mere  glorified  toy. ' '  Every  man  then  said,  in  effect,  if 
not  in  words,  of  the,  woman  who  happened  to  be  in  his 
power  what  Petruchio  said  of  Katherine: — 

"I  will  be  master  of  what  is  mine  own, 
She  is  my  goods,  my  chattels;  she  is  my  house, 
My  household  stuff,  my  field,  my  barn, 
My  horse,  my  ox,  my  ass,  my  everything." 

Even  after  civilization  had  superseded  savagery  and  bar- 
barism, it  was  still  inevitable,  so  long  as  such  views  found 
acceptance,  that  woman  should  continue  to  be  held  in  vas- 
salage and  ignorance  and  to  suffer  all  the  disabilities  and 
privations  of  "the  lesser  man."  She  was  studiously  ex- 
cluded from  civic  and  social  functions  and  compelled  to 
pass  her  life  in  the  restricted  quarters  of  the  harem  or 
gyneceum.  This  was  the  case  among  the  Athenians,  as 
well  as  among  other  peoples ;  for,  during  the  most  brilliant 
period  of  their  history,  women,  when  not  slaves  or  hetaBrae, 
were  considered  simply  child-bearers  or  housekeepers.1  A 
girl's  education,  when  she  received  any  at  all,  was  limited 
to  reading,  writing  and  music,  and  for  a  knowledge  of  these 
subjects  she  was  dependent  on  her  mother.  From  her 
earliest  years  the  Athenian  maiden  was  made  to  realize 
that  the  great  fountains  of  knowledge,  which  were  always 

i  Demosthenes  In  Neceram,  122.  T&s  \ikv  yhp  iratpas  rjdovijs  Zveic' 
exofxev,  rots  5£  TraXXofcdj  rrjs  Kad'  r\\itpo.v  depairelas  tov  adifiaros,  T&5  5£  yvvaticas 
rod  Traidoiroieiadai  yprjatias  ical  tuv  evdov  ftiXa/ca  irurTrjv  %x€ir' 

As  indicative  of  the  comparative  value  of  men  and  women,  as 
members  of  society,  in  the  estimation  of  the  Greeks,  Euripides  makes 
Iphigenia  give  utterance  to  the  following   sentiment: 
' '  More  than  a  thousand  women  is  one  man 
Worthy  to  see  the  light  of  life." 


4  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

available  for  her  brothers,  were  closed  to  her.  Her  duty 
was  to  become  proficient  in  the  use  of  the  needle  and  the 
distaff,  and,  later  on,  to  learn  how  to  embroider,  to  ply 
the  loom  and  make  garments  for  herself  and  for  the  other 
members  of  her  family. 

Until  she  was  seven  years  old,  she  was  brought  up  with 
her  brothers  under  the  eye  of  her  mother.  During  this 
period  of  childhood  she  had  a  certain  amount  of  freedom, 
but,  after  her  seventh  year,  she  was  kept  in  the  gyneconitis 
— women's  quarters — " under  the  strictest  restraint,  in  or- 
der/ '  as  Xenophon  informs  us  in  his  (Economicus,  "that 
she  might  see  as  little,  hear  as  little  and  ask  as  few  ques- 
tions as  possible."  On  rare  occasions  she  was  permitted 
to  be  a  spectator  at  a  religious  procession,  or  to  take  part 
in  certain  of  the  choral  dances  that  constituted  so  impor- 
tant a  part  in  the  religious  ceremonies  of  ancient  Greece. 
Whether  in  public  or  in  private,  silence  was  always  con- 
sidered an  imperative  duty  for  a  woman. 

But  more  than  this.  Not  only  was  she  expected  to  ob- 
serve silence  herself,  but  she  was  also  expected  so  to  con- 
duct herself  that  no  one  would  have  occasion  to  speak 
about  her.  Pericles,  in  a  celebrated  discourse,  gave  ex- 
pression to  the  prevailing  opinion  regarding  this  phase  of 
female  excellence  when,  on  a  notable  occasion,  he  addressed 
to  a  certain  number  of  women  the  following  words :  ' '  Great 
will  be  your  glory  in  not  falling  short  of  your  natural  char- 
acter ;  and  greatest  will  be  hers  who  is  least  talked  of  among 
men  whether  for  good  or  for  evil. '  * 

From  the  foregoing  observations  it  will  be  seen  that  the 

i  Tijt  re  yhp,  xnrapxofoijs  f«5<rewj  /tii)  xe^P0(rt  y^vtaBat  vfuv  p.eyd\t}  77  56£ a1 
*<u  ^j  &p  «r'  iX&xwTov  iptTTJs  iripi  1j  rftbyov  iv  tpaeei  khtos  1).  jThucidides, 
Eistory  of  the  Peloponnesian  War,  II,  45. 

"Phidias/ '  Plutarch  tells  us  in  his  Conjugal  Precepts,  "made 
the  statue  of  Venus  at  Elis  with  one  foot  on  the  shell  of  a  tortoise, 
to  signify  two  great  duties  of  a  virtuous  woman,  which  are  to  keep 
at  home  and  be  silent.  For  she  is  only  to  speak  to  her  husband  or  by 
her  husband/1 


WOMAN'S    LONG    STRUGGLE  5 

general  attitude  of  the  Athenians  toward  woman  was  any- 
thing but  favorable  to  her  intellectual  development,  or  to 
her  exerting  any  influence  beyond  the  limits  of  her  own 
household.  And  what  is  said  of  the  Greeks  can  be  affirmed, 
with  still  greater  emphasis,  of  the  other  nations  of  an- 
tiquity. Indeed,  it  can  be  safely  asserted  that,  had  they 
all  entered  into  a  solemn  compact  systematically  to  dis- 
credit woman's  mental  capacity  and  to  repress  all  her 
noblest  aspirations,  they  could  not  have  succeeded  more 
effectually  than  by  the  methods  they  severally  adopted.  In 
ancient  Greece  the  condition  of  woman  was  little  better 
than  it  is  in  India  to-day  under  the  law  of  Manu,  where 
the  husband,  no  matter  how  unworthy  he  may  be,  must  be 
regarded  by  the  wife  as  a  god. 

And  yet,  notwithstanding  the  dominant  force  of  public 
opinion  and  the  strange  traditional  prejudices  that  pos- 
sessed for  the  majority  of  people  all  the  semblance  and 
commanding  power  of  truth,  woman  was  here  and  there 
able  to  break  through  the  barriers  that  impeded  her  pro- 
gress in  her  quest  of  knowledge  and  to  defy  the  social  con- 
ventions that  precluded  her  from  being  seen  or  heard  in 
the  intellectual  arena. 

One  of  the  first  and  most  notable  of  Greek  women  to 
assert  her  independence  and  to  emerge  from  the  intellec- 
tual eclipse  which  had  so  long  kept  her  sex  in  obscurity, 
was  the  Lesbian  Sappho,  who,  as  a  lyric  poet,  stands,  even 
to-day,  without  a  superior.  So  great  was  her  renown 
among  the  ancients  that  she  was  called  "The  Poetess,"  as 
Homer  was  called  "The  Poet."  Solon,  on  hearing  one  of 
her  songs  sung  at  a  banquet,  begged  the  singer  to  teach  it 
to  him  at  once  that  he  might  learn  it  and  die.  Aristotle  did 
not  hesitate  to  endorse  a  judgment  that  ranked  her  with 
Homer  and  Archilochus,  while  Plato,  in  his  Phaedrus,  exalts 
her  still  higher  by  proclaiming  her  "the  tenth  Muse." 
Horace  and  Ovid  and  Catullus  strove  to  reproduce  her  pas- 
sionate strains  and  rhythmic  beauty ;  but  their  efforts  were 


6  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

little  better  than  paraphrase  and  feeble  imitation.  Her 
features  were  stamped  on  coins,  "though  she  was  but  a 
woman/ '  and,  after  her  death,  altars  were  raised  and 
temples  erected  in  honor  of  this  "flower  of  the  Graces/ '  of 

"That  mighty  songstress,  whose  unrivaled  powers 
Weave  for  the  Muse  a  crown  of  deathless  flowers." 

Second  only  to  the  "violet-crowned,  pure,  sweetly- 
smiling  Sappho/ '  as  her  rival,  Alcasus,  calls  her,  were 
Gorgo,  Andromeda  and  Corinna.  The  last  of  these  was 
the  teacher  of  Pindar,  the  celebrated  lyric  poet,  whom  she 
defeated  five  times  in  poetic  contests  in  Thebes.1  She  was 
one  of  the  nine  lyrical  muses,  corresponding  to  "the  celes- 
tial nine/7  who  dwelt  on  the  sacred  slopes  of  Helicon.2 
Telesilla  and  Praxilla  were  two  others.  The  last  named 
was  by  her  countrymen  ranked  with  Anacreon. 

Scarcely  inferior  to  Corinna  were  those  ardent  pupils  of 
Sappho,  who  had  flocked  from  the  sunny  isles  of  the  Mgean 

i  Ariosto,  referring  to  the  undying  fame  of  Sappho  and  Corinna, 
expresses  himself  in  words  as  beautiful  as  they  are  true,  as  witness 
the  following  couplet: 

Saffo  e  Corinna,  perche  furon  dotte, 
Splendono  illustri,  e  mai  non  veggon  notte. 

— Orlando  Furioso,  Canto  XX,  strophe  I. 
2  The  nine  "Terrestrial   Muses' '   were  Sappho,  Erinna,   Myrus, 
Myrtis,  Corinna,  Telesilla,  Praxilla,  Nossis  and  Anyta. 

The  Greek  poet  Antipater  embodies  the  names  of  the  "  Terres- 
trial Nine"  in  an  epigram  which  is  well  rendered  in  the  appended 
Latin  translation: 

Has  divinis  linguis  Helicon  nutrivit  mulieres 

Hymnis,  et  Macedon  Pierias  scopulus, 
Prexillam,  Myro,  Anytas  os,  fceminam  Homerum, 

Lesbidum  Sappho  ornamentum  capillatarum. 
Erinnam,  Telesillam  nobilem,  teque  Corinna, 

Strenuum  Palladis  scutum  quae  cecinit. 
Nossidem  muliebri  lingua,  et  dulsisonam  Myrtin, 

Omnes  immortalium  operatrices  librorum. 
Novem  quidem  Musas  magnum  ccelum,  novem  vero  illas 
Terra  genuit  hominibus,  immortalem  laetitiam. 


WOMAN'S   LONG    STRUGGLE  7 

and  the  laurel-crowned  hills  of  Greece  around  "the  fair- 
haired  Lesbian ' '  in  her  island  home,  which  was,  at  the  same 
time,  a  school  of  poetry  and  music.  The  most  gifted  of 
these  were  Danophila,  the  Pamphylian,  and  Erinna,  whose 
hexameters  were  said  by  the  ancients  to  reveal  a  genius 
equal  to  that  of  Homer.  She  died  at  the  early  age  of  nine- 
teen and  has  always  excited  a  pathetic  interest  because, 
like  so  many  others  of  her  sex  since  her  time — women  and 
maidens  of  the  loftiest  spiritual  aspirations, — she  was  con- 
demned to  the  spindle  and  the  distaff  when  she  wished  to 
devote  her  life  to  the  service  of  the  Muses.  The  following 
is  her  own  epitaph : 

"These  are  Erinna's  songs,  how  sweet,  though  slight! 
For  she  was  but  a  girl  of  nineteen  years. 
Yet  stronger  far  than  what  most  men  can  write; 
Had  death  delayed,  whose  fame  had  equaled  hers?" 

Never  before  nor  since  did  such  a  wave  of  feminine 
genius  pass  over  the  fragrant  valleys  and  vine-clad  plains 
of  Greece.  Never  in  any  other  place  or  time  shone  so  bril- 
liant a  galaxy  of  women  of  talent  and  imagination;  never 
was  there  a  more  perfect  flowering  of  female  intelligence 
of  the  highest  order.  According  to  tradition,  there  ap- 
peared in  the  favored  land  of  Hellas,  when  the  entire  popu- 
lation of  the  country  was  not  equal  to  that  of  a  fair-sized 
modern  city,  within  the  brief  space  of  a  century,  no  fewer 
than  seventy-six  women  poets.  When  we  remember  that 
the  Renaissance  produced  only  about  sixty  female  poets, 
though  in  a  more  extended  territory  and  with  a  much 
larger  population,  and  that  none  of  them  could  approach 
the  incomparable  Sappho,  or  even  many  of  her  pupils,  in 
the  perfection  of  their  work,  we  can  realize  the  splendor 
of  the  achievements  of  the  female  intellect  in  the  Hellenic 
world  during  the  golden  age  of  feminine  poetic  art.1 

iCf.  Poetriarum  octo,  Erinnce,  Myrus,  Mytidis,  Corinnce,  Telesil- 
Iw,  Praxillce,  Nossidis,  Anytce  fragmenta  et  elogia,  by  J.  C.  Wolf, 


8  ^VOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

One  would  think  that  this  phenomenal  outburst  of  men- 
tal vigor,  and  especially  the  marvelous  achievements  of 
Sappho,  Corinna  and  those  of  their  pupils  and  followers, 
would  have  compelled  the  world  for  all  subsequent  time  to 
recognize  the  innate  power  of  the  female  mind,  and  per- 
ceive the  wisdom — not  to  say  justice — of  according  to 
women  the  same  advantages  for  the  development  of  their 
inborn  gifts  as  were  afforded  to  men.  They  had  proved 
that,  under  favorable  conditions,  there  was  essentially  no 
difference  between  the  male  and  the  female  intellect,  and 
that  genius  knows  no  sex.  And  this  they  demonstrated 
not  only  in  poetry,  but  also  in  philosophy  and  in  other 
branches  of  human  knowledge  as  well. 

Among  those  who  had  especially  distinguished  them- 
selves were  Hipparchia,  the  wife  of  the  philosopher  Crates ; 
Themista,  the  wife  of  Leon  and  a  correspondent  of  Epicu- 
rus, who  was  pronounced  "a  sort  of  female  Solon";  Peric- 
tione,  a  disciple  of  Pythagoras,  who  distinguished  herself 
by  her  writings  on  Wisdom  and  The  Harmony  of  Woman, 
and  Leontium,  a  disciple  and  companion  of  Epicurus,  who 
wrote  a  work  against  Theophrastus,  which  was  pronounced 
by  Cicero  a  model  of  style. 

And  was  not  the  school  of  Pythagoras  at  Crotona  con- 
tinued after  his  death  by  his  daughter  and  his  wife,  The- 
ano  ?  And  did  not  this  fact  alone  manifest  woman 's  capac- 
ity for  abstract  thought,  as  effectively  as  the  Lesbian  school 
had  demonstrated  her  talent  for  consummate  verse?1 

But  it  was  all  to  no  purpose.    The  comparative  freedom 

Hamburg,  1734.  See  also  the  charming  memoir  "Sappho"  by  H.  T. 
Wharton,  London,  1898,  and  Grieehische  Bicterinnen,  by  J.  C.  Poes- 
tion,  Vienna,  1876. 

i  See  Mulierum  Grcecarum  quce  oratione  prosa  usee  sunt  fragmenta 
et  elogia  Greece  et  Latine,  by  J.  C.  Wolf,  London,  1739,  Historia 
Mulierum  Philosopharum,  scriptore  iEgidio  Menagio,  Lugduni,  1690, 
Grieehische  Philosophinnen,  by  J.  C.  Poestion,  Norden,  1885,  and  Le 
Donne  alle  Scuole  dei  Filosofi  Gred  in  Saggi  e  Note  Critiche,  by  A. 
Chiappelli,  Bologna,   1895. 


WOMAN'S    LONG    STRUGGLE  9 

and  advantages  which  Sappho,  Corinna  and  their  friends 
had  enjoyed  was  soon — for  some  reason  scarcely  compre- 
hensible by  us — taken  from  all  the  women  of  Greece  except 
the  peculiar  class  known  in  history  as  hetcerce — companions. 
These  we  should  now  rank  among  the  demimonde,  but  the 
Greek  point  of  view  was  different  from  ours.  The  hetaerae 
were  the  friends  and  companions  of  the  men  who  spent 
most  of  their  time  in  public  resorts,  and  they  accompanied 
them  to  the  gymnasium,  to  banquets,  the  games,  to  the 
theater  and  other  similar  assemblies  from  which  the  wives 
and  daughters  of  the  Athenians,  during  the  golden  age  of 
Greece,  were  rigorously  excluded.  For  so  great  was  the 
seclusion  in  which  the  wives  of  the  Greeks  then  lived  that 
they  never  attended  public  spectacles  and  never  left  the 
house,  unless  accompanied  by  a  female  slave.  They  were 
not  permitted  to  see  men  except  in  the  presence  of  their 
husbands,  nor  could  they  have  a  seat  even  at  their  own 
tables,  if  their  husbands  happened  to  have  male  guests. 

It  was  by  reason  of  this  strict  seclusion  and  the  enforced 
ignorance  to  which  they  were  subjected  that  we  hear  very 
little  of  the  virtuous  women  of  this  period  of  Greek  his- 
tory. We  have  records  of  a  few  instances  of  filial  and  con- 
jugal affection,  but,  outside  of  this,  the  names  of  the  wives 
and  daughters  of  even  the  most  distinguished  citizens  have 
long  since  passed  into  oblivion.  Only  the  hetaerae  attracted 
public  notice,  and  only  among  them,  during  the  period  to 
which  reference  is  now  made,  do  we  find  any  women  who 
achieved  distinction  by  their  intellectual  attainments,  or 
by  the  influence  which  they  exerted  over  those  with  whom 
they  were  associated. 

But  strange  as  it  may  appear,  these  extra-matrimonial 
connections,  far  from  incurring  the  censure  which  they 
would  now  provoke,  received  the  cordial  recognition  of 
both  legislators  and  moralists,  and  even  those  who  were 
considered  the  most  virtuous  among  men  openly  entered 


10  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

into  these  relations  without  exposing  themselves  to  the 
slightest  stigma  or  reproach.  Many  of  the  hetaerae,  con- 
trary to  what  is  sometimes  thought,  were  ' '  of  highly  moral 
character,  temperate,  thoughtful  and  earnest,  and  were 
either  unattached  or  attached  to  one  man,  and  to  all  in- 
tents and  purposes  married.  Even  if  they  had  two  or  three 
attachments  but  behaved  in  other  respects  with  temper- 
ance and  sobriety,  such  was  the  Greek  feeling  in  regard 
to  their  peculiar  position  that  they  did  not  bring  down 
upon  themselves  any  censure  from  even  the  sternest  of 
the  Greek  moralists.,,1 

The  most  famous  men  of  Greece,  married  as  well  as  un- 
married, had  their  "  companions, ' '  many  of  whom  were  as 
distinguished  for  their  accomplishments  as  for  their  wit 
and  beauty.  Thus  Epicurus  had  Leontium,  Menander 
Glycera,  Isocrates  Metaneira,  Aristotle  Herpyllis,  and 
Plato  Archlanassa,  while  Aristippus,  the  philosopher,  Di- 
ogenes, the  cynic,  and  Demosthenes,  the  great  orator,  each 
had  a  companion  bearing  the  name  of  Lais.2  More  than 
this.  So  strongly  had  many  of  the  hetaerae  impressed  them- 
selves on  the  esthetic  sense  of  the  beauty-loving  Greeks 
that  not  a  few  of  them  had  statues  erected  in  their  honor, 
especially  in  Athens  and  Corinth,  and  thus  shared  in  the 
honor  that  hitherto  had  been  reserved  exclusively  for  the 
goddess  of  beauty  and  love,  fair  Aphrodite. 

The  hetaerae  from  Ionia  and  JStolia  were  particularly 
conspicuous  for  their  intelligence  and  culture.  And  all 
of  them,  whencesoever  they  came,  enjoyed  unrestricted  lib- 
erty and,  unlike  the  wives  of  the  citizens  of  Athens,  had 
free  access  to  the  Portico  and  the  Academy  and  the  Ly- 

1  Woman:  Her  Position  and  Influence  in  Ancient  Greece  and 
Borne  and  Among  the  Early  Christians,  pp.  58  and  59,  by  James 
Donaldson,  London,  1907. 

2  There  were  several  hetserre  named  Lais.  One  of  them,  apparently 
a  native  of  Corinth,  was  celebrated  throughout  Greece  as  the  most 
beautiful  woman  of  her  age. 


WOMAN'S    LONG    STRUGGLE  II 

ceum,  and  were  permitted  to  attend  the  lectures  of  the 
philosophers  on  the  same  footing  as  the  men.  Thus,  to 
mention  only  a  few,  Thais  was  a  pupil  of  Alciphron,  Nicar- 
ete  of  Stilpo,  and  Lasthenia  of  Plato. 

And  so  keen  were  their  intellects  and  so  marked  was 
their  progress  in  the  most  abstract  studies,  that  many  of 
them  were  recognized  as  the  most  distinguished  pupils  of 
their  masters.  This  accounts,  in  part,  for  the  popularity  of 
their  salons,  at  which  were  gathered  the  most  eminent 
statesmen,  poets,  artists,  philosophers  and  orators  of  the 
day.  The  nearest  approach  in  modern  times  to  such  tryst- 
ing-places,  where  beauty,  wit  and  talent  found  a  congenial 
atmosphere,  were  the  celebrated  salons  of  Ninon  de  Len- 
clos,  Mile,  de  l'Espinasse  and  Mme.  du  Deffand.  At  these 
reunions  were  discussed,  not  only  the  news  of  the  day, 
but  also,  and  especially,  art,  science,  literature  and  politics, 
and  always  to  the  advantage  of  both  guests  and  hostesses. 

Possessing  such  freedom  and  enjoying  such  splendid  op- 
portunities for  culture  and  intellectual  advancement,  it  is 
not  surprising  that  the  hetaerae  played  so  remarkable  a  role 
in  the  social  and  civic  life  of  Greece,  and  that  they  were 
able  to  wield  such  influence  over  their  associates,  and  that 
they  often  attained  even  the  highest  royal  honors.  Nor 
is  it  surprising  to  read  in  Plato's  Symposium  the  splendid 
tribute  which  Socrates  renders  to  Diotima  of  Mantinea, 
when,  in  discussing  the  true  nature  of  divine  and  eternal 
beauty,  he  speaks  of  her  as  his  teacher. 

Many  of  the  hetaeras  were  not  only  the  models  but  also 
the  inspirers  of  the  most  famous  painters  and  sculptors  of 
antiquity.  Thus,  Lais  was  the  companion  and  inspirer  of 
Apelles,  the  most  noted  painter  of  Greece,  while  Phryne, 
said  to  have  been  the  most  beautiful  woman  who  ever  lived, 
was  the  inspirer  of  the  peerless  Praxitiles,  who,  in  repro- 
ducing her  form,  succeeded  in  bequeathing  to  the  world 
what  was  undoubtedly  the  most  lovely  representation  of 


12  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

"the  human  form  divine' '  that  ever  came  from  a  sculp^ 
tor's  chisel.1 

On  account  of  the  relations  of  the  hetaerse,  especially 
those  of  the  fourth  and  fifth  centuries  B.C.,  with  the  great- 
est men  of  their  time,  the  writers  of  antiquity  thought 
them  of  sufficient  importance  to  preserve  their  history. 
One  author  has  left  us  an  account  of  no  fewer  than  one 
hundred  and  thirty-five  of  them.  But,  of  all  those  whose 
names  have  come  down  to  us,  hy  far  the  most  noted,  accom- 
plished and  influential  was  the  famous  Aspasia  of  Miletus. 
In  many  respects  she  was  the  most  remarkable  woman 
Greece  ever  produced.  Of  rare  talent  and  culture,  of 
extraordinary  tact  and  finesse,  of  a  fascinating  personality 
combined  with  the  grace  and  sensibility  of  her  sex,  together 
with  a  masculine  power  of  intellect,  "this  gracious  Ionian/ ' 
as  has  well  been  said,  ' '  stands  with  Sappho  on  the  pinnacle 
of  Hellenic  culture,  each  in  her  own  field  the  highest  femi- 
nine representative  of  an  esthetic  race. ' ' 

At  an  early  age  she  won  the  passionate  love  of  the  great 
statesman  Pericles,  after  which  she  entered  upon  that  mar- 
velous career  which  secured  for  her  a  place  in  the  front 
rank  of  the  most  eminent  women  of  all  time.  "Her  house 
became  the  resort  of  all  the  great  men  of  Athens.  Soc- 
rates was  often  there.  Phidias  and  Anaxagoras  were  inti- 
mate acquaintances,  and  probably  Sophocles  and  Euripi- 
des were  in  constant  attendance.  Indeed,  never  had  any 
woman  such  a  salon  in  the  whole  history  of  man.  The 
greatest  sculptor  that  ever  lived,  the  grandest  man  of  all 
antiquity,  philosophers  and  poets,  sculptors  and  painters, 
statesmen  and  historians,  met  each  other  and  discussed 
congenial  subjects  in  her  rooms.    And  probably  hence  has 

i  For  information  respecting  the  heteerse  the  reader  is  referred  to 
the  Letters  of  Alciphron,  to  Lucian's  Dialogues  on  courtesans,  and 
more  particularly  to  the  Deipnosophists  of  Athenaeus,  Chap.  XIII. 
See  also  The  Lives  and  Opinions  of  the  Ancient  Philosophers,  by 
Diogenes  Laertius,  Bohn  Edition,  London. 


WOMAN'S    LONG    STRUGGLE  IS 

arisen  the  tradition  that  she  was  the  teacher  of  Socrates 
in  philosophy  and  politics,  and  Pericles  in  rhetoric.  Her 
influence  was  such  as  to  stimulate  men  to  their  best,  and 
they  attributed  to  her  all  that  was  best  in  themselves. 
Aspasia  seems  especially  to  have  thought  earnestly  on  the 
duties  and  destiny  of  women.  The  cultivated  men  who 
thronged  her  assemblies  had  no  hesitation  in  breaking 
through  the  conventionalities  of  Athenian  society,  and 
brought  their  wives  to  the  parties  of  Aspasia ;  and  she  dis- 
cussed with  them  the  duties  of  wives.  She  thought  they 
should  be  something  more  than  mere  mothers  and  house- 
wives. She  urged  them  to  cultivate  their  minds,  and  be  in 
all  respects  fit  companions  for  their  husbands."1 

She  is  said  to  have  written  some  of  the  best  speeches  of 
Pericles — among  them  his  noted  funeral  oration  over  those 
who  had  died  in  battle  before  the  walls  of  Potidaea.  As  to 
Socrates,  he  himself  explicitly  refers  to  her,  in  the  Memo- 
rabilia, as  his  teacher.  She  is  a  notable  character  in  the 
Socratic  dialogues  and  appears  several  times  in  those  of 
^schines,  while  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  she 
strongly  influenced  the  views  of  Plato,  as  expressed  by  him 
in  the  Republic  respecting  the  equality  of  woman  with  man. 

She  was  continually  consulted  regarding  affairs  of  state, 

i  Donaldson,  op.  cit.,  pp.  61  and  62. 

Adolph  Schmidt,  one  of  the  late  biographers  of  Aspasia,  accepts 
these  statements  as  true  and  credits  to  Aspasia  the  making  of  both 
Pericles  and  Socrates.  His  views  are  also  shared  by  other  modern 
writers  who  have  made  a  special  study  of  the  subject. 

According  to  some  writers  an  indirect  allusion  to  Aspasia 's  in- 
tellectual superiority  is  found  in  the  Medea  of  Euripedes  in  the  fol- 
lowing verses  of  the  women's  chorus: 

"In  subtle  questions  I  full  many  a  time 
Have  heretofore  engaged,  and  this  great  point 
Debated,  whether  woman  should  extend 
Her  search  into  abstruse  and  hidden  truths. 
But  we  too  have  a  Muse,  who  with  our  sex 
Associates  to  expound  the  mystic  lore 
Of  wisdom,  though  she  dwell  not  with  us  all." 


14  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

and  her  influence  in  social  and  political  matters  was  pro- 
found and  far-reaching.  This  is  evidenced  by  the  abuse 
heaped  upon  her  by  the  comic  dramatists  of  the  time.  Re- 
ferring to  the  ascendancy  which  she  had  over  Pericles,  she 
was  called  Dejanira,  the  wife  of  Hercules ;  Hera,  the  queen 
of  the  gods  and  wife  of  the  Olympian  Jove.  It  was  as- 
serted by  her  enemies  that  the  Samian  war  had  been 
brought  about  at  her  instigation  and  that  the  Peloponne- 
sian  war  had  been  undertaken  to  avenge  an  insult  which 
had  been  offered  her.  These  and  similar  statements  which, 
when  not  absurd,  were  greatly  exaggerated,  show  the 
boundless  influence  she  wielded  over  Pericles,  and  what  an 
important  part  she  took  in  the  government  of  Greece  in 
the  zenith  of  its  glory. 

But,  however  great  her  influence,  we  are  warranted  in 
asserting  that  it  was  never  exercised  in  an  illegitimate 
manner.  She  was  ever,  as  history  informs  us,  the  good, 
the  wise,  the  learned,  the  eloquent  Aspasia.  It  was  her 
goodness,  her  wisdom,  her  rare  and  varied  accomplish- 
ments, her  clear  insight  and  noble  purposes  that  gave  her 
the  wonderful  power  she  possessed  and  which  enabled  her, 
probably  more  than  any  one  person,  to  make  the  age  of 
Pericles  not  only  the  most  brilliant  age  of  Greek  history, 
but  also  the  most  brilliant  age  of  all  time.1 

i  It  is  proper  to  add  that  certain  modern  writers  will  not  admit 
that  Aspasia  was  ever  an  hetaera  in  the  sense  of  being  a  courtesan. 
After  Pericles  had  divorced  his  first  wife,  he  lived  with  Aspasia  as  his 
second  wife,  to  whom  he  was  devoted  and  faithful  until  death.  Ac- 
cording to  Greek  law,  which  forbade  Athenian  citizens  to  marry  for- 
eign women,  he  could  not  be  her  legal  husband;  but,  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  he  always  treated  her  with  all  the  respect  and  affection 
due  to  a  wife.  His  dying  words:  "Athens  entrusted  her  greatness 
and  Aspasia  her  happiness  to  me,"  clearly  evince  her  nobility  of 
character  and  the  place  she  must  ever  have  occupied  in  the  great 
statesman 's  heart. 

The  most  important  notices  in  ancient  writings,  respecting  Aspasia, 
are  found  in  Plutarch's  Pericles,  Xenophon's  Memorabilia  of  Socra- 


WOMAN'S    LONG    STRUGGLE  15 

But,  notwithstanding  the  beneficent  influence  which 
Aspasia  ever  exerted  on  those  about  her,  notwithstanding 
the  heroic  efforts  she  had  made  to  liberate  her  own  sex 
from  the  restrictions  that  had  so  long  harassed  and  de- 
graded it,  the  wives  and  daughters  of  the  citizens  of 
Athens  were  still  kept  in  almost  absolute  seclusion  and 
denied  the  opportunities  of  mental  culture  which  were  so 
generously  accorded  the  free-born  hetaerse  from  Asia  Minor 
and  the  islands  of  the  JEgean.  Socrates,  as  we  learn  from 
Xenophon,  asserted  woman's  equality  with  man,  while 
Plato  taught  that  mentally  there  was  no  essential  differ- 
ence between  man  and  woman.  He  concluded,  accordingly, 
that  women  of  talent  should  have  the  same  educational  ad- 
vantages as  men.  In  The  Republic  as  well  as  in  the  Laws, 
when  he  refers  to  education — which  he  would  make  com- 
pulsory for  ' '  all  and  sundry,  as  far  as  possible ' ' — his  views 
are  far  in  advance  of  those  which  have  been  entertained 
until  the  last  half  century.  He  would  have  girls  as  well 
as  boys  thoroughly  instructed  in  music  and  gymnastic — 
"music  for  the  mind  and  gymnastic  for  the  body."1 

In  the  Laws  he  contends  that  "women  ought  to  share, 
as  far  as  possible,  in  education  and  in  other  ways  with  men. 
For  consider : — if  women  do  not  share  in  their  whole  life 
with  men,  then  they  must  have  some  other  order  of  life." 

Again  he  asserts  "Nothing  can  be  more  absurd  than 
the  practice  which  prevails  in  our  own  country  of  men  and 
women  not   following  the  same   pursuits  with   all   their 

tes  and  Plato's  Menexenus.  Among  the  most  valuable  of  modern 
works  on  the  same  subject  is  Aspasie  de  Milet,  by  L.  Becq  de 
Fouquieres,  Paris,  1872.  Cf.  also  Aspasie  et  le  Steele  de  Pericles, 
Paris,  1862;  Histoire  des  Deux  Aspasies,  by  Le  Comte  de  Bievre, 
Paris,  1736,  and  A.  Schmidt's  Sur  VAge  de  Pericles,  1877-79. 

i  Under  the  term  music,  Plato,  like  his  contemporaries,  included 
reading,  writing,  literature,  mathematics,  astronomy  and  harmony. 
It  was  opposed  to  gymnastic  as  mental  to  bodily  training.  Both  music 
and  gymnastic,  however,  were  intended  for  the  benefit  of  the  soul. 


16  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

strength  and  with  one  mind,  for  thus  the  state,  instead  of 
being  a  whole,  is  reduced  to  a  half. ' ' 1 

In  The  Republic  he  expresses  the  same  idea  when  he 
affirms  that  "the  gifts  of  nature  are  alike  diffused  in 
both" — men  and  women — "all  the  pursuits  of  men  are 
the  pursuits  of  women. ' ' 2 

These  opinions  of  Socrates  and  Plato  are  so  at  variance 
with  those  of  their  contemporaries,  and  so  contrary  to  the 
custom  that  then  obtained  of  excluding  all  but  free-born 
hetaerae  from  the  advantages  of  education  and  culture,  that 
we  cannot  but  think  that  they  were  due  to  the  profound 
influence  which  had  been  exercised  directly  or  indirectly 
by  Aspasia  on  both  of  these  great  philosophers.  Be  this  as 
it  may,  neither  the  efforts  of  Aspasia  nor  the  teachings  of 
Socrates  and  Plato  were  able  to  remove  the  bars  to  intel- 
lectual development  from  which  the  women  of  Greece  had 
so  long  suffered.  A  change  in  customs  and  laws  concern- 
ing the  rigid,  oriental  seclusion  of  women  did  not  come 
until  much  later,  and  then  it  was  under  a  new  regime — 
that  of  the  Caesars — while  complete  equality  of  men  and 
women  in  school  and  college  was  not  recognized  until  long 
centuries  afterward. 

It  is  interesting  to  speculate  regarding  what  Greece 
would  have  become  had  she  developed  her  women  as  she 
developed  her  men.  Never  in  the  history  of  the  world  were 
there  in  any  one  city  so  many  eminent  men — poets,  orators, 
statesmen,  painters,  sculptors,  architects,  philosophers — as 
in  Athens,  and  yet  not  a  single  native-born  Athenian 
woman  ever  attained  the  least  distinction  in  any  depart- 
ment of  art  or  science  or  literature.  We  cannot  conceive 
for  a  moment  that  Greece's  fertility  in  great  men  and 
barrenness  in  great  women  was  due  to  the  fact  that  the 
mothers  of  such  illustrious  men  were  ordinary  housewives 

i  The  Dialogues  of  Plato,  Laws,  VII,  805,  Jowett  's  translation, 
New  York,  1892. 

2  Op.  cit.,  The  Republic,  V,  451  et  seq.  and  466. 


WOMAN'S   LONG    STRUGGLE  1*7 

and  entirely  devoid  of  the  talent  and  genius  which  gave 
immortality  to  their  distinguished  sons.  The  careers  of 
Aspasia  and  the  achievements  of  Sappho,  Corinna,  Myr- 
tides,  Erinna,  Praxilla,  Telesilla,  Myrus,  Anytae  and  Nos- 
sidis,  Theano  and  her  daughter,  to  mention  no  others, 
absolutely  preclude  such  an  assumption. 

The  women  in  Greece,  there  can  be  no  doubt  about  it, 
were  as  richly  endowed  by  nature  as  were  the  men,  and 
only  lacked  the  opportunities  that  men  enjoyed  to  achieve, 
in  every  sphere  of  intellectual  activity,  a  corresponding 
measure  of  success.  They  were  extraordinary  types,  these 
women  of  ancient  Greece;  for  among  them  we  find  the 
dignified  Roman  matron,  the  chatelaine  of  the  Middle  Ages, 
the  brilliant  woman  of  the  Renaissance  and  the  cultured 
mistress  of  the  French  salon.  But  all  their  talent,  power 
and  genius  counted  for  naught. 

Had  the  civilization  of  Greece  been  a  woman's  civiliza- 
tion, as  well  as  a  man's  civilization,  had  there  been  a  fed- 
eration of  all  the  Greek  states,  as  Aspasia  seems  to  have 
striven  for,  instead  of  a  number  of  small  and  independent 
city-states ;  had  the  women  of  Hellas  been  allowed  the  same 
liberty  of  action  in  intellectual  work  as  was  granted  to 
the  Italian  women  during  and  after  the  revival  of  letters, 
and  had  they  been  encouraged  to  develop  all  their  latent 
powers  that  were  so  systematically  suppressed,  and  to  work 
in  unison  with  the  men  for  the  welfare  and  advancement 
of  a  united  nation,  it  is  difficult  to  imagine  what  a  daz- 
zling intellectual  zenith  a  supremely  gifted  people,  "full 
summ'd  in  all  their  powers,"  would  have  attained.  Their 
capacity  for  work  and  for  achieving  great  things  would 
have  been  doubled  and  their  power  as  a  political  organiza- 
tion would  have  been  practically  irresistible. 

"We  are  the  only  women  that  bring  forth  men,"  said 
Gorgo,  the  wife  of  Leonidas.  The  Spartan  mothers,  who 
had  more  of  liberty  than  their  Athenian  sisters,  did,  indeed, 
bring  forth  warriors  of  undying  renown;  but  it  was  the 


18  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

mothers  of  Athens  who,  notwithstanding  all  their  grievous 
disabilities,  gave  to  the  world  all  the  greatest  masters  in 
art,  literature,  and  philosophy — the  men  who  through  the 
ages  have  been  the  leaders  and  the  teachers  of  humanity, 
and  who  seem  destined  to  hold  their  exalted  position  until 
the  end  of  time. 

The  failure  of  the  men  of  Greece  to  avail  themselves  of 
the  immense  potential  power,  which  they  always  kept  latent 
in  their  women,  was  the  occasion  of  a  terrible  nemesis  in 
the  end.  For  this  failure,  coupled  with  the  frightful 
license  introduced  by  a  class  of  educated  women,  like  the 
hetaerae,  without  legal  status  or  domestic  ties,  and  the  wave 
of  corruption  that  subsequently  followed  the  advent  of  the 
countless  dissolute  women  who  nocked  to  the  Hellenic  cities 
from  every  part  of  the  East,  paved  the  way  for  the  na- 
tion's downfall  and  for  its  ultimate  conquest  by  the  resist- 
less Roman  legions  that  swept  the  once  glorious  but  ill- 
fated  country  of  Pericles  and  Aspasia. 

WOMAN    AND   EDUCATION   IN   ANCIENT    ROME 

The  condition  of  women  in  Rome,  especially  from  150 
B.C.  to  150  A.D.,  was  quite  different  from  what  it  was  in 
Athens,  even  during  her  palmiest  days.  Owing  to  the  lack 
of  authentic  documents  we  know  but  little  of  the  history 
of  the  Roman  people  during  the  first  five  hundred  years 
of  their  existence,  but  we  do  know  that  during  this  period 
many  and  important  changes  were  effected  regarding  the 
social  and  civil  status  of  women. 

In  the  first  place  the  Roman  matron  had  much  more 
freedom  than  was  accorded  the  Greek  wife  during  the  age 
of  Pericles.  Far  from  being  kept  in  oriental  seclusion, 
like  her  Athenian  sister,  she  was  at  liberty  to  receive  and 
dine  with  the  friends  of  her  husband,  and  to  appear  in 
public  whenever  she  desired.  She  went  to  the  theater  and 
the  Forum;  she  took  part  in  all  reputable  entertainment, 
whether  public  or  private.     Besides  this,  she  had  more 


WOMAN'S    LONG    STRUGGLE  19 

and  greater  legal  rights  than  Greek  women  had  ever 
known,  and  was  treated  rather  as  the  peer  and  companion 
of  man  than  as  his  toy  or  his  slave. 

Besides  this,  foreign  women  were  never  so  conspicu- 
ous in  Rome  as  in  Athens.  Even  after  Greece  had  become 
a  Roman  province,  and  after  Grcecia  capta  Bomam  cepit — 
when  Greek  ideas  and  Greek  customs  were  introduced  into 
the  capital  of  the  Roman  world — it  was  still  the  Roman 
matron  that  was  supreme.  And,  although  many  Greek 
women,  some  of  them  of  rare  beauty  and  culture,  found 
their  way  to  Rome,  especially  under  the  empire,  they  were 
always  kept  in  the  background  and  never  succeeded  in 
achieving  anything  approaching  the  ascendancy  which 
distinguished  them  during  the  time  of  Aspasia.  Their 
influence  in  literature  and  politics  was  almost  nil. 

In  the  case  of  the  women  of  Rome,  on  the  contrary,  it 
may  well  be  questioned  whether  woman  has  ever  wielded  a 
greater  influence  than  she  did  during  the  three  centuries 
that  followed  the  reign  of  Augustus.  But  she  did  not  at- 
tain to  this  position  of  preeminence  without  a  long  and 
bitter  struggle.  Every  advance  toward  the  goal  of  social 
and  intellectual  equality  was  strenuously  contested  by  the 
men,  who  wished  to  limit  the  activities  of  their  wives  to 
the  spindle,  the  distaff  and  the  loom  and  the  other  occupa- 
tions of  the  household.  For,  as  in  Greece,  the  generally 
accepted  view  was  that  woman,  in  the  language  of  Gib- 
bon, "was  created  to  please  and  obey.  She  was  never  sup- 
posed to  have  reached  the  age  of  reason  or  experience. ' ' 
And  her  noblest  epitaph,  it  was  averred,  was  couched  in 
the  following  words: 

"She   was   gentle,    pious,    loved   her   husband,    was 
skillful   at   the   loom   and   a   good   housekeeper."1 

i  It  was  the  boast  of  the  Emperor  Augustus  that  all  his  clothes 
were  woven  by  his  wife,  sister  or  daughter.  Suetonius,  in  his  Lives 
of  the  Twelve  Ccesars,  informs  us  that  this  great  master  of  the  world 
filiam  et  neptes  ita  instituit  ut  etiam  lanificio  assuefaeeret. 


SO  ^VOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

As  to  her  mental  work,  far  from  being  considered  on  its 
own  merits  or  as  a  factor  in  the  world's  growth,  it  was 
flouted  as 

"Mere  woman's   work 

Expressing  the  comparative  respect 

Which  means  the  absolute  scorn." 

As  early  as  450  B.C.,  when  the  laws  of  the  Twelve  Tables 
were  promulgated,  the  girls  of  Rome  received  instruction 
in  reading,  writing  and  arithmetic.  "Up  before  dawn, 
with  a  lamp  to  light  the  way,  and  an  attendant  to  carry 
her  satchel,  the  little  Roman  maiden  of  seven  years,  or 
over,  would  trudge  off  to  the  portico  where  the  school- 
master wielded  his  rod.1  For  some  years  this  life  con- 
tinued, with  but  few  holidays,  and  those  far  between, 
until  she  attained  some  proficiency  in  the  rudiments.  Then, 
most  probably,  her  education  in  the  scholastic  sense  came 
to  an  end.  Her  brothers  and  boy  schoolmates,  if  their 
parents  wished  it,  could  proceed  from  the  primary  school 
to  the  secondary,  where  geography,  history  and  ethics  were 
taught;  where  the  art  of  elocution  was  assiduously  prac- 
ticed and  the  works  of  the  great  Greek  and  Roman  poets 

i  This  type  of  the  old  Roman  schoolmaster  is  alluded  to  in  the 
following  well  known  verses  of  Martial: 

"Quid  tibi  nobiscum  est,  ludi  scelerate  magister, 

Invisum  pueris  virginibusque  caput? 
Nondum  cristati  rupere  silentia  Galli 

Murmure  jam  saevo  verberibusque  tanas." 

—Lib.  IX,  79. 
which  have  been  rendered  as  follows: 

Despiteful  pedant,  why  dost  me  pursue, 
Thou  head  detested  by  the  younger  crewf 
Before  the  cock  proclaims  the  day  is  near 
Thy  direful  threats  and  lashes  stun  my  ear. 

Martial  elsewhere  refers  to  "Ferulaeque  tristes,  sceptra  pedago- 
gorum" — melancholy  rods,  sceptres  of  pedagogues — and  it  appears 
from  one  of  Juvenal's  satires  that  "to  withdraw  the  hand  from  the 
rod"  was  a  phrase  meaning  "to  leave  school." 


WOMAN'S   LONG    STRUGGLE  21 

were  carefully  read  and  expounded;  but  it  was  enough 
for  the  girl  to  have  learned  how  to  read,  write  and  cipher ; 
she  had  then  to  learn  her  domestic  duties. ' ' * 

With  the  extension  of  the  empire  and  the  consequent 
enormous  increase  in  wealth  and  the  rapid  progress  in 
social  and  intellectual  freedom,  there  was  a  notable  change 
in  the  character  of  the  education  given  to  women,  at  least 
to  those  of  the  wealthier  and  patrician  families.  This  was, 
in  great  measure,  due  to  the  wave  of  Hellenism  which, 
shortly  after  the  conquest  of  Greece,  broke  upon  the 
Eoman  capital  with  such  irresistible  force.  To  the  large 
and  rapidly  increasing  number  of  women  of  keen  intellect 
and  lofty  aspirations,  whose  minds  had  hitherto  been  con- 
fined to  the  comparatively  barren  field  of  Roman  letters, 
the  splendid  creations  of  Greek  genius  came  as  a  revela- 
tion. To  become  thoroughly  versed  in  Greek  poetry  and 
proficient  in  the  teachings  of  Greek  philosophy  was  the 
ambition  of  scores  of  Roman  women,  who  soon  became 
noted  for  the  extent  and  variety  of  their  attainments,  as 
well  as  for  their  rare  culture  and  charming  personality. 

Among  the  pioneers   of  the  intellectual  movement  in 

i  Woman  Through  the  Ages,  Vol.  I,  pp.  110,  111,  by  Emil  Reich 
London,  1908. 

Schoolhouses  among  the  Romans,  as  well  as  among  the  Greeks, 
were  quite  different  from  our  modern,  well-equipped  buildings.  Usu- 
ally, at  least,  in  earlier  times,  instruction  was  given  in  the  open  air, 
in  some  quiet  street  corner  or  in  tabernce — sheds  or  lean-tos — as  in 
certain  Mohametan  countries  to-day.  Horace  refers  to  this  in  Epis- 
tola  XX,  Lib.  I,  when  he  writes: 

"Ut  pueros  elementa  docentem 
Occupet  extremis  in  vicis  balba  senectus."  « 

In  such  schools  the  pupils  sat  on  the  floor  or  the  bare  ground, ' 
or,  if  the  lessons  were  given  on  the  street,  they  sat  on  the  stones. 
There  were  no  desks,  or,  if  there  were   any   benches,  they  had  no 
backs.      The    pupils   were,   therefore,   perforce   obliged   to   write    on 
their  knees. 

Cf.  Historical  Survey  of  Pre-Christian  Education,  pp.  278  and 
346,  by  S.  S.  Laurie,  London,  1900. 


22  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

Rome,  and  one  of  the  most  beautiful  types  of  the  learned 
women  of  her  time,  was  the  celebrated  daughter  of  the 
elder  Scipio  Africanus — Cornelia,  mother  of  the  Gracchi. 
She  is  famous  on  account  of  her  devotion  to  her  two  sons, 
Tiberius  and  Caius.  She  was  their  teacher;  and  it 
was  her  educated  and  refined  mind  that,  more  than  any- 
thing else,  contributed  to  the  formation  of  those  splendid 
characters  for  which  they  were  so  highly  esteemed  by  their 
countrymen.  Plutarch  informs  us  that  these  noble  sons 
of  a  noble  mother  "were  brought  up  by  her  so  carefully 
that  they  became  beyond  dispute  the  most  accomplished 
of  Roman  youth;  and,  thus,  they  owed  perhaps  more  to 
their  excellent  upbringing  than  to  their  natural  parts."1 
One  is  not  surprised  to  learn  that  this  noble  lady  was 
almost  idolized  by  the  Romans,  and  that  they  erected  a 
statue  to  her  with  the  inscription,  "Cornelia,  Mother  of 
the  Gracchi." 

Scarcely  less  distinguished  and  accomplished  was  an- 
other Cornelia,  the  wife  of  Pompey,  the  Great.  "Besides 
her  youthful  beauty//  writes  Plutarch,  in  his  Life  of  Pom- 
pey, "she  possessed  other  charms,  for  she  was  well  versed 
in  literature,  in  playing  on  the  lyre,  and  in  geometry,  and 
she  had  been  used  to  listen  to  philosophical  discourses  with 
profit.  Besides  this,  she  had  a  disposition  free  from  all 
affectation  and  display  of  pedantry — blemishes  which  such 
acquirements  usually  breed  in  women. ' ' 2 

Then  there  was  the  cultured  and  devoted  Aurelia,  the 
mother  of  Julius  Caesar.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  this  emi- 
nent man  was  as  much  indebted  to  his  mother  for  his  suc- 
cess and  greatness  as  were  Tiberius  and  Caius  Gracchus 
to  the  benign  influence  and  careful  teachings  of  the  gentle 
and  virtuous  Cornelia.  Highly  educated  and  of  com- 
manding personalities,  both  these  women,  like  many  others 

*Cf.  his  Tiberius  Gracchus.     Cicero  says  of  them,  "Non  tarn  in 
gremio   educatos  quam   sermone  matris. " 
2  Ibidem,  Life  of  Pompey. 


WOMAN'S    LONG    STRUGGLE  23 

of  their  time,  contributed  much  to  the  making  of  Roman 
history  by  the  success  they  achieved  in  molding  the  char- 
acters of  some  of  the  greatest  men  of  their  own  or  of 
any  age. 

It  is  a  splendid  tribute  that  Cicero,  in  his  Orator,  pays 
to  Laelia  when  he  tells  of  the  purity  of  her  language  and 
the  charm  of  her  conversation.  "When  I  listen/ '  he  de- 
clares, "to  my  mother-in-law,  Laelia — for  women  preserve 
the  traditional  purity  of  accent  the  best  because,  being 
limited  in  their  intercourse  with  the  multitude,  they  retain 
their  early  impressions — I  could  imagine  that  I  hear  Plau- 
tus  or  Naevius  speaking,  the  pronunciation  is  so  plain  and 
simple,  so  perfectly  free  from  all  affectation  and  display; 
from  which  I  infer  that  such  was  the  accent  of  her  father 
and  his  ancestors — not  harsh  like  the  pronunciation  to 
which  I  have  just  referred,  not  broad  nor  rustic  nor  rugged, 
but  terse,  smooth  and  flowing."1 

These  are  a  few  of  the  cultured  and  learned  women  who 
shed  glory  on  their  country  by  the  refining  influence  which 
they  exerted  in  the  quiet  and  unostentatious  precincts 
of  the  family  circle.  But  there  were  others  who  chose  a 
wider  field  for  their  activities,  and  who,  by  reason  of 
their  unerring  judgment,  well-poised  and  highly  culti- 
vated minds,  had  so  won  the  confidence  of  the  nation's 
greatest  leaders  that  they  were  frequently  consulted  on 
important  affairs  of  state.  Thus,  Cicero  tells  us  of  an 
interview  which  he  had  at  Antium  with  Brutus  and  Cas- 
sius.  Besides  the  men,  there  were  present  on  this  occasion 
three  women,  who  took  an  active  part  in  the  discussion. 
These  were  Servilia,  the  mother  of  Brutus,  Porcia,  the 
wife  of  Brutus  and  the  daughter  of  Cato,  and  Tertulla, 
the  wife  of  Cassius  and  sister  of  Brutus.  The  views  of 
the  women  were  not  without  effect,  and  so  confident  was 
Servilia  of  her  power  that  she  engaged  to  have  a  certain 
clause  in  one  of  the  decrees  of  the  Senate  expunged.     This 

iDe  Oratore,  Lib.  Ill,  Cap.  XII. 


24  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

is  but  one  of  many  similar  instances  which  might  be  ad- 
duced from  the  lives  of  the  women  of  Rome  who  took  an 
active  part  in  politics.  As  we  learn  from  Tacitus,  their 
counsels  and  assistance  were  considered  of  peculiar  value 
by  the  Commonwealth.  For,  when  some  of  the  sterner  old 
moralists  wished  to  exclude  women  from  all  participation 
in  public  affairs,  the  Senate,  after  a  heated  debate,  decided 
\.  by  a  large  majority  that  the  cooperation  of  women  in  ques- 
tions of  administration,  far  from  being  a  menace,  as  some 
contended,  was  so  beneficial  to  the  state  that  it  should  be 
continued. 

Among  other  noteworthy  makers  of  Roman  history,  be- 
sides those  just  mentioned,  is  Livia,  the  wife  of  Augustus 
and  the  mother  of  Tiberius.  So  great  was  her  influence  and 
so  persistent  was  her  activity  in  government  affairs,  that 
it  is  sometimes  asserted  that  she  was  the  prime  mover 
of  most  of  the  public  acts  of  both  these  rulers.  This 
woman,  whom  Ovid  describes  as  having  the  features  of 
Venus  and  the  manner  of  Juno,  and  who,  he  declares, ' '  held 
her  head  above  all  vices,"  was  credited  with  having  the 
benevolence  of  Ceres,  the  purity  of  Diana  and  the  wisdom 
and  craft  of  Minerva — "a  woman,"  as  was  said  by  one 
of  her  contemporaries,  "in  all  things  more  comparable  to 
the  gods  than  to  men,  who  knew  how  to  use  her  power  so 
as  to  turn  away  peril  and  advance  the  most  deserving.  *' 

Then  there  was  the  gracious,  the  virtuous,  the  self-sac- 
rificing Octavia,  sister  of  the  Emperor  Augustus,  who  was 
so  successful  in  composing  grave  differences  between  her 
brother  and  her  husband,  and  who  so  exerted  her  influence 
for  peace  during  the  troublous  times  in  which  she  lived 
that  she  lives  in  history  as  a  peacemaker.  In  marked  con- 
trast to  this  gentle  and  sympathetic  woman  was  the  ener- 
getic and  heroic  Agrippina,  the  wife  of  Germanicus.  In 
many  respects  she  was  the  most  commanding  personality  of 
her  age,  and  exhibited  in  an  eminent  degree  those  sterling 
qualities  which  we  are  wont  to  associate  with  the  strong, 


WOMAN'S    LONG    STRUGGLE  25 

dignified,  courageous  women  of  ancient  Rome,  who  gave 
to  the  world  so  many  and  so  great  men  in  every  sphere  of 
human  endeavor.  "She  was,"  as  Tacitus  informs  us,  "a 
greater  power  in  the  army  than  legates  and  commanders, 
and  she,  a  woman,  had  quelled  a  mutiny  which  the  em- 
peror's authority  could  not  check."1  She  was,  indeed,  as 
has  well  heen  said,  "a  woman  to  whom  one  might  address 
an  epic  but  never  a  sonnet." 

I  have  referred  to  these  distinguished  women  because 
they  are  embodiments  of  the  best  types  of  the  noble,  patri- 
cian families  who  made  the  great  Roman  empire  the  ad- 
miration of  all  time,  and  because  they  exhibit  the  won- 
derful advance  that  had  been  made  in  the  general  status 
of  women  since  the  days  of  Pericles  and  Aspasia.  I  have 
referred  to  them,  also,  to  show  what  women  are  capable  of 
achieving  in  the  difficult  and  complicated  affairs  of  public 
life,  when  they  are  accorded  the  necessary  freedom  of 
action  and  when  they  are  properly  equipped  for  work  by 
education  and  by  association  with  men  of  learning  and 
experience.  Comparing  the  secluded  and  illiterate  Greek 
wife  with  the  free  and  highly  accomplished  Roman  matron, 
we  find  almost  as  much  difference  between  the  two  as  there 
is  between  a  child  and  a  fully  developed  woman — all  the 
difference  there  was  between  the  unsophisticated  young 
wife,  not  quite  fifteen,  of  whom  Xenophon  gives  us  such  a 
charming  picture,2  and  the  highly  educated  and  compe- 
tent mother  of  the  Gracchi. 

Of  the  Greek  maiden  we  are  told  that,  before  her  mar- 
riage she  "had  been  most  carefully  brought  up  to  see  and 
hear  as  little  as  possible  and  to  ask  the  fewest  questions"; 
that  her  whole  experience  before  her  marriage  "consisted 
in  knowing  how  to  take  the  wool  and  make  a  dress,  and  in 

i ' '  Potiorem  iam  apud  exercitus  Agripplnam  quam  legatos,  quam 
duces;  compressam  a  muliere  seditionem,  cui  nomen  principis  obsis- 
tere  non  quiverit. "   Annales,  Lib.  I,  Cap.  69. 

'(Economicus,  VII,  5,  6. 


26  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

seeing  how  her  mother 's  handmaidens  had  their  daily  spin- 
ning tasks  assigned  to  them."  Cornelia,  on  the  contrary, 
was  not  only,  as  we  have  seen,  highly  accomplished,  but 
also  one  who,  after  her  husband's  death,  was  quite  pre- 
pared, as  Plutarch  assures  us,  to  undertake  the  manage- 
ment of  the  extensive  property  which  he  left  his  family, 
and  who,  we  may  well  believe,  would  also  have  been  quali- 
fied, had  the  occasion  demanded  it,  to  perform  with  dis- 
tinction the  same  duties  that  fell  to  the  lot  of  the  gifted 
wives  of  Germanicus  and  Augustus. 

Nothing  in  the  history  of  Greek  and  Roman  womanhood 
more  strikingly  illustrates  than  the  two  instances  given 
the  vast  difference  in  the  status  of  the  wives  of  Greece 
and  Eome,  or  exhibits  more  clearly  the  advantages  ac- 
cruing to  early  training  and  thorough  mental  development. 
If  there  was  any  difference  in  talent  or  intellect  between 
the  Greek  and  the  Roman  woman  it  was,  so  far  as  we  can 
determine,  in  favor  of  the  Greek.  The  sole  reason,  then, 
for  such  a  marked  difference  in  their  capacity  for  work 
and  for  achieving  distinction  in  intellectual  and  adminis- 
trative fields  of  action  arose  from  the  lack  of  education  in 
the  Athenian  wife  and  the  fullest  measure  of  educational 
freedom  enjoyed  by  the  Roman.  That  Aspasia,  in  spite 
of  all  the  odds  against  her,  was  able  to  rise  to  such  a 
pinnacle  of  glory  does  not  prove  that  she  was  the  superior 
of  her  countrywomen — the  mothers  of  the  greatest  poets, 
artists  and  philosophers  of  all  time — but  it  exhibits  rather 
her  good  fortune  in  being  able  to  effect  a  partnership  with 
the  greatest  statesman  of  Greece,  and  one  who  was  at  the 
same  time  fully  able  to  appreciate  all  her  rare  mental  at- 
tainments and  give  her  marvelous  genius  free  scope  for 
development  by  cooperating  with  him  in  making  the 
period  during  which  he  held  the  reign  of  power  the  most 
brilliant  one  in  the  annals  of  human  progress. 

Plato,  referring  to  the  oriental  seclusion  to  which  Athe- 
nian wives  were  condemned,  speaks  of  them  as  "a  race 


WOMAN'S    LONG    STRUGGLE  27 

used  to  living  out  of  the  sunshine,' '  and  that,  too,  among 
a  people  that  habitually  lived  out  of  doors.  We  have 
already  seen  how  much  greater  freedom  Roman  women  en- 
joyed and  how  much  more  important  was  the  role  they 
played  in  public  as  well  as  private  life;  but  we  have  not 
told  all.  They  not  only  went  to,  but  presided  over,  public 
games  and  religious  ceremonies.  They  were  admitted  to 
aristocratic  clubs  and  had,  under  the  empire,  a  regular 
assembly  or  senate  of  their  own,  known  as  the  Conventus 
Matronarum.  Hortensia,  the  daughter  of  the  great  orator 
Hortensius,  pleaded  the  cause  of  her  sex  before  the  tribu- 
nal of  the  triumvirs,  and  so  eloquent  and  effective  was  her 
speech  that  she  not  only  won  her  case,  but  also  won  the 
praise  of  the  critic,  Quintilian,  for  her  splendid  oratorical 
effort. 

Yet  more.  A  certain  woman  in  the  Roman  possessions 
in  Africa  had  so  impressed  her  fellow  citizens  by  her  intel- 
lectual capacity  and  administrative  ability  that  she  was 
chosen  as  one  of  the  two  chief  magistrates  of  the  place. 
She  is  known  in  history  as  Messia  Castula,  duumvira.  It 
is  true  that  the  men  of  the  older  school,  who  would  limit 
woman's  activities  to  the  distaff  and  the  loom,  strongly 
objected  to  the  increasing  freedom  and  power  of  women, 
and  endeavored  to  counteract  their  influence;  but  all  to 
no  purpose.  And  it  was  the  crabbed  old  Cato,  the  Censor, 
who  growled  in  undisguised  disgust: —  "We  Romans  rule 
over  all  men  and  our  wives  rule  over  us." 

But  great  as  were  the  freedom  and  educational  advan- 
tages of  the  Roman  women,  the  startling  fact  remains  that, 
with  the  exception  of  a  few  fragmentary  verses  of  slight 
merit  and  of  questionable  authenticity,  we  have  absolutely 
no  tangible  evidence  of  the  Roman  woman's  literary  abil- 
ity while  under  pagan  influence.  We  have  seen,  in  con- 
sidering her  intellectual  attainments — especially  after  the 
introduction  of  Greek  art  and  letters  into  the  City  of  the 


28  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

Seven  Hills — that  every  woman  who  pretended  to  culture 
was  obliged  to  be  familiar  with  the  Greek  as  well  as  with 
the  Latin  authors,  that  her  education  was  deemed  incom- 
plete without  a  knowledge  of  Greek  poetry,  oratory,  his- 
tory and  philosophy,  but  the  fact  is  indisputable  that 
Roman  women  were  not  producers  like  their  Greek  sisters, 
and  that  in  no  instance  did  their  productions  reach  any- 
thing like  the  supreme  excellence  of  the  creations  of  a 
Corinna  or  a  Sappho.  There  was,  it  is  true,  Sulpicia,  of 
whom  Martial  writes :  * '  Let  every  girl,  whose  wish  it  is  to 
please  a  single  man,  read  Sulpicia;  let  every  man,  whose 
wish  it  is  to  please  a  single  maid,  read  Sulpicia ;"  but,  if 
the  few  amatory  verses  that  are  credited  to  her  represent 
the  highest  flights  of  the  Roman  women  in  the  domain  of 
poetry,  then,  indeed,  were  they  far  behind  not  only  Sap- 
pho and  Corinna,  but  also  far  behind  scores  of  their  pupils. 
Martial  does  indeed  speak  of  a  young  maiden  in  whom 
were  combined  the  eloquence  of  Plato  with  the  austere 
philosophy  of  the  Porch,  and  who  wrote  verses  worthy 
of  a  chaste  Sappho;  but  this  was  evidently  a  great  exag- 
geration, for  we  have  no  other  evidence  of  her  existence. 

The  creative  work  of  Roman  women  was,  so  far  as  we 
are  able  to  judge,  quite  as  limited  in  prose  as  it  was  in 
poetry.  Agrippina,  the  mother  of  Nero,  was  one  of  the 
few  prose  writers  whose  name  has  come  down  to  us.  From 
her  memoirs  it  was  that  Tacitus  received  much  of  the 
material  incorporated  in  his  Annals. 

That  some  of  the  women  had  literary  ability  of  a  high 
order  is  indicated  by  a  letter  of  Pliny  to  one  of  his  cor- 
respondents, in  which  occurs  the  following  passage : 

"Pomponius  Saturninus  recently  read  me  some  letters 
which  he  averred  had  been  written  by  his  wife.  I  believed 
that  Plautus  or  Terence  was  being  read  in  prose.  Whether 
they  were  really  his  wife's,  as  he  maintains,  or  his  own, 
which  he  denies,  he  deserves  equal  honor,  either  because  he 


WOMAN'S    LONG    STRUGGLE  29 

composes  them  or  because  lie  has  made  his  wife,  whom  he 
married  when  a  mere  girl,  so  learned  and  so  polished."1 

Scarcely  less  distinguished  for  her  taste  in  literature, 
and  for  her  talent  as  a  letter  writer,  was  Pliny's  wife, 
Calphurnia,  who,  at  his  request,  wrote  to  him  in  his  ab- 
sence every  day  and  sometimes  even  twice  a  day.  Accord- 
ing to  Cicero,  his  daughter  Tulia  was  "the  best  and  most 
learned  of  women";  but  her  literary  work,  it  is  probable, 
did  not  extend  much  beyond  her  letters  to  her  illustrious 
father.  Nevertheless,  what  would  we  not  give  to  possess 
these  letters — to  have  as  complete  a  collection  of  them  as 
we  have  of  those  of  the  great  orator  and  philosopher.  They 
would  be  of  inestimable  value  and  would  be  absolutely  be- 
yond compare,  except,  possibly,  with  the  letters  of  Mme. 
du  Deffand  or  of  Elizabeth  Barrett  Browning  of  a  much 
later  age. 

Considering  the  number  of  educated  women  that  lived 
in  the  latter  days  of  the  Eepublic  and  during  the  earlier 
part  of  the  Empire,  and  their  well  known  culture  and  love 
of  letters,  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  they  may  have 
written  much  in  both  prose  and  verse  cf  which  we  have 
no  record.  Literary  productions  must  have  more  than  or- 
dinary value  to  survive  two  thousand  years,  and  especially 
two  thousand  years  of  such  revolutions  and  upheavals  as 
have  convulsed  the  world  since  the  time  of  the  pax  Romana, 
when  all  the  world  was  at  peace  under  Augustus. 

How  much  of  the  literary  work  of  the  women  of  to-day 
will  receive  recognition  twenty  centuries  hence?  Some  of 
it  may,  it  is  true,  find  a  place  in  the  fireproof  libraries 
of  the  time;  but  who,  outside  of  a  few  antiquarians,  will 
take  the  trouble  to  read  it  or  estimate  its  value?  A  few 
anthologies  containing  our  gems  of  prose  and  poetry  will 
probably  be  all  that  our  fortieth  century  readers  will  deem 
worthy  of  notice.  In  view  of  the  chaotic  condition  of 
Europe  for  so  many  centuries,  the  wonder  is  not  that  we 
lEpistolai,  Lib.  I,  16. 


30  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

have  so  little  of  the  literary  remains  of  Greece  and  Rome, 
but  rather  that  we  have  anything  at  all. 

As  one  might  expect,  the  literary  women  of  Rome,  as 
well  as  those  who  ventured  to  take  part  in  public  affairs, 
had  their  critics.  The  satirists  of  the  time  were  as  un- 
sparing of  their  ridicule  as  they  were  long  afterward  when 
Moliere  wrote  his  Femmes  Savantes  and  his  Precieuses 
Ridicules.  And  as  for  men  of  the  old  conservative  type,  a 
learned  woman  was  as  much  an  object  of  horror  as  is  a 
militant  suffragette  in  conservative  England  to-day.  "No 
learned  wife  for  me, p '  exclaims  Martial, ' '  but  rather  a  well- 
fed  slave."1 

And  Juvenal  had  no  more  love  for  educated  women  than 
have  some  of  our  contemporaries  for  a  blue-stocking  house- 
keeper. He  gives  his  opinion  of  them  in  the  following 
characteristic  fashion: 

"That  woman  is  a  worse  nuisance  than  usual  who,  as 
soon  as  she  reclines  on  her  couch,  praises  Virgil;  makes 
excuses  for  doomed  Dido;  pits  bards  against  one  another 
and  compares  them,  and  weighs  Homer  and  Mars  in  the 
balance.  Teachers  of  literature  give  way,  professors  are 
vanquished,  the  whole  mob  is  hushed,  and  so  great  is  the 
torrent  of  words  that  no  lawyer  or  auctioneer  may  speak, 
nor  any  other  woman. ' ' 2 

But  if  learned  women  had  their  enemies  and  detractors 
they  also  had  friends  and  defenders.  Among  these  was 
the  Stoic  philosopher,  C.  Musonius  Rufus,  who  lived  in  the 
time  of  Nero.  Like  Plato,  he  contended  that  women  should 
have  the  same  training  as  men  and  that  the  faculties  of 

*Sit  mihi  verna  satur,  sit  non  doctissima  conjux.  Epigrammata, 
Lib.  II,  90. 

Martial's  taste  in  this  respect  was  the  same  as  that  of  Heine, 
who  said  of  the  woman  he  loved:  "She  has  never  read  a  line  of 
my  writings  and  does  not  even  know  what  a  poet  is,"  and  the  same 
as  that  of  Rousseau,  who  declared  that  his  last  flame,  Therese  Lavas- 
seur,  could  not  tell  the  time  of  day. 

2  Satire  VI,  434-440. 


WOMAN'S    LONG    STRUGGLE  31 

both  should  be  equally  developed.  The  gist  of  his  teaching 
is  contained  in  the  statement  that : 

"If  the  same  virtues  must  pertain  to  men  and  women, 
it  follows,  necessarily,  that  the  same  training  and  educa- 
tion must  be  suitable  for  both. ' '  * 

Our  brief  sketch  of  women's  work  in  ancient  Rome  would 
be  incomplete  without  some  reference  to  the  famous  Ec- 
clesia  Domestica — Church  of  the  Household — on  the  Aven- 
tine,  and  the  distinguished  women  who  were  its  chief 
ornaments.  During  the  time  of  Pope  Damanis,  and  not 
long  before  the  sacking  of  Rome  by  Alaric,  the  Ecclesia 
Domestica  was  a  kind  of  conventual  home  to  which  had 
retired,  or  in  which  were  frequently  gathered,  some  of  the 
most  noble  and  learned  women  of  the  city.  Among  the 
most  notable  of  these  were  Marcella  and  her  friends,  Paula 
and  Eustochium. 

For  beauty  of  character  and  nobility  of  purpose  and 
rare  mental  endowments  they  recall  the  best  traditions  of 
a  Cornelia  or  a  Calphurnia,  while  so  great  was  their  purity 
of  life  and  so  unbounded  was  their  charity  to  the  poor 
and  suffering  that  they  were  honored  by  being  numbered 
among  the  saints  of  the  early  church.  But  what  specially 
distinguished  them  among  all  the  great  women  of  the 
Roman  world  was  their  great  and  varied  learning.  In  this 
respect  they  probably  were  far  in  advance  of  all  their 
predecessors.  For,  in  addition  to  a  thorough  knowledge 
of  Latin  and  Greek  literature,  history  and  philosophy,  they 
had,  under  the  great  theologian  and  orientalist,  St.  Jerome, 
become  proficient  in  Hebrew  and  deeply  versed  in  Scrip- 
ture. 

Special  mention  should  be  made  of  Paula  and  her 
daughter  Eustochium;  for  it  is  probable  that,  had  it  not 
been  for  their  influence  on  Jerome,  and  their  active  co- 
operation in  his  great  life  work,  we  should  not  have  the 

iJoannis  Stobcei  Florilegium,  Vol.  IV,  p.  212,  Teubner's  edi- 
tion, 1857. 


32  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

Latin  version  of  the  Scriptures  that  is  to-day  known  as 
the  Vulgate.  This  is  evinced  from  the  letters  of  the  saint 
himself  and  from  what  we  know  of  the  lives  of  these  two 
remarkable  women,  who,  as  St.  Jerome  informs  us  in  the 
epitaph  which  he  had  engraved  on  Paula's  tomb  in  the 
Church  of  the  Nativity  in  Bethlehem,  were  descended 
from  the  Scipios,  the  Gracchi  and  the  Pauli  on  the  mother 's 
side,  and  on  the  father 's  side  from  the  half -mythical  kings 
of  Sparta  and  Mycenae.1 

They  aided  him  not  only  by  their  sympathy  and  by  pur- 
chasing for  him,  often  at  a  great  price,  the  manuscripts  he 
needed  for  his  colossal  undertaking,  but  also  assisted  him 
by  their  thorough  knowledge  of  Latin,  Greek  and  Hebrew 
in  translating  the  Sacred  Books  from  the  original  Hebrew 
into  Latin.  So  great  was  Jerome's  confidence  in  their 
scholarship  and  so  high  was  his  appreciation  of  their  abil- 
ity and  judgment  that  he  did  not  hesitate  to  submit  his 
translations  to  them  for  their  criticism  and  approval. 
After  he  had  completed  his  version  of  the  first  Book  of 
Kings,  he  turned  it  over  to  them,  saying :  ' '  Read  my  Book 
of  Kings — read  also  the  Latin  and  Greek  translations  and 
compare  them  with  my  version.' '  And  they  did  read  and 
compare  and  criticise.  And  more  than  this,  they  fre- 
quently suggested  modifications  and  corrections  which  the 
great  man  accepted  witli  touching  humility  and  incorpor- 
ated in  a  revised  copy. 

More  wonderful  still,  the  Latin  Psalter,  as  it  has  come 
down  to  us,  is  not,  as  is  generally  supposed,  the  transla- 
tion from  the  Hebrew  of  Jerome,  but  rather  a  corrected 

1  The  following  is  the  epitaph  as  written  by  St.  Jerome,  ' '  the 
Christian  Cicero": 

Scipio  quam  genuit,  Pauli  fudere  parentes, 
Gracchorum  soboles,  Agamemnonis  inclyta  proles, 
Hoc  jacet  in  tumulo,  Paulam  dixere  priores, 
Euxtochii  genetrix,  Romani  prima  senatus, 
Pauperiem  Christi  et  Bethlehemitica  rura  secuta  est. 


WOMAN'S    LONG    STRUGGLE  33 

version  made  from  the  Septuagint  by  his  illustrious  col- 
laborators— Paula  and  Eustochium. 

It  is  safe  to  say  that  no  two  women  were  ever  engaged 
in  a  more  important  or  more  difficult  literary  undertaking 
— one  requiring  keener  critical  sense  or  more  profound 
learning — than  were  Paula  and  Eustochium,  or  one  in 
which  their  efforts  were  crowned  with  more  brilliant  suc- 
cess than  were  those  of  these  two  supreme  exemplars  of 
the  grace,  the  knowledge,  the  culture,  the  refinement  of 
Eoman  womanhood — the  crowning  glories  of  womanhood 
throughout  the  ages. 

St.  Jerome  showed  his  grateful  recognition  of  the  in- 
valuable assistance  received  from  his  devoted  and  talented 
co-workers  by  dedicating  to  them  a  great  number  of  his 
most  important  books.  This  scandalized  the  pharisaical 
men  of  the  time,  who  looked  askance  at  all  learned  women 
and  resented  particularly  the  preeminence  given  to  Paula 
and  her  accomplished  daughter.  But  their  reproaches 
provoked  a  reply  from  the  saint  that  was  worthy  of  the 
most  chivalrous  champion  of  woman,  and  revealed,  at  the 
same  time,  all  the  nobility  of  soul  of  the  roused  "Lion  of 
Bethlehem. M  It  is  not  only  a  defence  of  his  course,  but  also 
a  splendid  tribute  to  his  two  illustrious  friends,  and  a 
tribute  also  to  the  great  and  good  women  of  all  time. 

1 '  There  are  people,  O  Paula  and  Eustochium, ' '  exclaims 
the  Christian  Cicero,  vibrant  with  emotion  and  in  a  burst 
of  eloquence  that  recalls  one  of  the  burning  philippics  of 
Marcus  Tullius,  "who  take  offence  at  seeing  your  names  at 
the  beginning  of  my  works.  These  people  do  not  know 
that  Olda  prophesied  when  the  men  were  mute ;  that  while 
Barach  was  atremble,  Deborah  saved  Israel;  that  Judith 
and  Esther  delivered  from  supreme  peril  the  children 
of  God.  I  pass  over  in  silence  Anna  and  Elizabeth  and 
the  other  holy  women  of  the  Gospel,  but  humble  stars  when 
compared  with  the  great  luminary,  Mary.  Shall  I  speak 
new  of  the  illustrious  women  among  the  heathen?    Does 


84  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

not  Plato  have  Aspasia  speak  in  his  dialogues?  Does  not 
Sappho  hold  the  lyre  at  the  same  time  as  Alcaeus  and  Pin- 
dar? Did  not  Themista  philosophize  with  the  sages  of 
Greece?  And  the  mother  of  the  Gracchi,  your  Cornelia, 
and  the  daughter  of  Cato,  wife  of  Brutus,  before  whom 
pale  the  austere  virtue  of  the  father  and  the  courage  of 
the  husband — are  they  not  the  pride  of  the  whole  of  Rome  ? 
I  shall  add  but  one  word  more.  Was  not  it  women  to 
whom  our  Lord  first  appeared  after  His  resurrection  ?  Yes, 
men  could  then  blush  for  not  having  sought  what  the 
women  had  found."1 

Time  has  spared  a  joint  letter  of  Paula  and  Eustochium 
to  their  friend  Marcella — a  letter  which  exhibits  so  well 
the  rare  culture  and  literary  ability  of  the  writers  that  we 
cannot  but  lament  that  we  have  not  more  of  the  corre- 
spondence which  was  carried  on  between  the  learned  in- 
mates of  the  Church  of  the  Household  on  the  Aventine 
and  Paula's  convent  home  near  the  Church  of  the  Nativity 
in  Bethlehem.  Such  a  collection  would  be  beyond  price, 
as  it  would  complete  the  picture  of  the  age  so  well  sketched 
by  St.  Jerome ;  and,  as  a  contribution  to  the  literary  world, 
it  would  have  a  value  not  inferior  to  that  of  those  exquisite 
classics  of  a  later  age — the  letters  of  Madame  Sevigne  to 
her  daughter.2 

WOMAN   AND   EDUCATION  DURING   THE   MIDDLE   AGES 

The  period  of  nearly  a  thousand  years  intervening  be- 
tween the  downfall  of  Rome  in  A.D.  476  and  the  taking 
of  Constantinople  by  the  Turks  in  1453  is  usually  known 

i  In  his  preface  to  the  Commentary  on  Sophonius. 

2  For  an  exhaustive  account  of  the  lives  and  achievements  of  S*. 
Jerome  and  his  noble  friends,  Paula  and  Eustochium,  the  reader  is 
referred  to  L'Histoire  de  Sainte  Paule,  by  F.  Lagrange,  Paris,  1870, 
and  Saint  Jerome,  La  Societe  Chretienne  d  Borne  et  VEmigration  Bo- 
maine  en  Terre  Sainte,  by  A.  Thierry,  Paris,  1867.  Cf.  also  Woman's 
Work  in  Bible  Study  and  Translation,  by  A.  H.  Johns  in  The  Cath- 
olic World,  New  York,  June,  1912. 


WOMAN'S    LONG    STRUGGLE  35 

in  history  as  the  Middle  Ages.  By  some  it  is  considered 
as  synonymous  with  the  Dark  Ages,  because  of  the  de- 
cline of  learning  and  civilization  during  this  long  interval 
of  time.  The  former  designation  seems  preferable,  for,  as 
we  shall  see,  the  latter  is  more  or  less  misleading.  During 
the  " wandering  of  the  nations' '  in  the  fourth  and  fifth 
centuries,  and  the  long  and  fierce  struggles  between  the 
^barbarian  hordes  from  the  north  with  the  decadent  peoples 
of  the  once  great  Eoman  empire,  there  was,  no  doubt,  a 
partial  eclipse  of  the  sun  of  civilization;  but  the  conse- 
quent darkness  was  not  so  dense  nor  so  general  and  long- 
continued  as  is  sometimes  imagined.  The  progress  of  in- 
tellectual culture  was,  indeed,  greatly  retarded,  but  there 
was  no  time  when  the  light  of  learning  was  entirely  ex- 
tinguished. For  even  during  the  most  troublous  times 
there  were  centers  of  culture  in  one  part  of  Europe  or 
another.  At  one  time  the  center  was  in  Italy,  at  another 
in  Gaul,  and,  at  still  another,  it  was  in  Britain  or  Ireland 
or  Germany. 

But  whether  it  was  in  the  south,  or  the  west  or  the  north 
of  Europe  that  letters  flourished,  it  was  always  the  con- 
vent or  the  monastery  that  was  the  home  of  learning  and 
culture.  Within  these  holy  precincts  the  literary  treasures 
of  antiquity  were  preserved  and  multiplied.  Here  monks 
and  nuns  labored  and  studied,  always  keeping  lighted  the 
sacred  torch  of  knowledge — Et  quasi  cursores  vita'i  lam- 
pada  tradunt — and  passing  it  on  to  the  generations  that 
succeeded  them.  That  any  of  the  great  literary  master- 
pieces of  Greece  and  Rome  have  come  to  us,  in  spite  of 
the  destructive  agencies  of  time  and  the  wreck  of  empires, 
is  due  wholly  to  the  unremitting  toil  through  long  ages  of 
the  zealous  and  intelligent  inmates  of  the  cloister. 

Of  the  monastic  institutions  for  men  there  is  no  occa- 
sion to  speak,  except  in  so  far  as  they  contributed  to  the 
intellectual  advancement  of  woman.  In  some  cases  the 
women  of  the  cloister  owed  much  to  ecclesiastics  for  their 


86  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

literary  training;  but  there  are  not  wanting  instances  in 
which  the  nuns  took  the  lead  in  education  and  had  the 
direction  of  schools  which  gave  to  the  church  priests  and 
bishops  of  recognized  scholarship. 

Practically  the  only  schools  for  girls  during  the  Middle 
Ages  were  the  convents.  Here  were  educated  rich  and 
poor,  gentle  and  simple.  And  in  these  homes  of  piety  and 
learning  the  inmates  enjoyed  a  peace  and  a  security  that 
it  was  impossible  to  find  elsewhere.  They  were  free  from 
the  dangers  and  annoyances  that  so  often  menaced  them 
in  their  own  homes  and  were  able  to  pursue  their  studies 
under  the  most  favorable  auspices. 

Among  the  first  convent  schools  to  achieve  distinction 
were  those  of  Aries  and  Poitiers  in  Gaul,  in  the  latter  part 
of  the  sixth  century.  The  Abbess  of  Poitiers  is  known  to 
us  as  St.  Radegund.  She  not  only  had  a  knowledge  of 
letters  rare  for  her  age,  but  wrote  poems  of  such  merit 
that  they  were  until  recently  accepted  as  the  productions 
of  her  master,  the  poet  Fortunatus,1  who  subsequently  be- 
came bishop  of  Poitiers. 

Far  more  notable,  however,  than  the  convents  of  Aries 
and  Poitiers  was  the  celebrated  convent  of  St.  Hilda  at 
Whitby.  Hilda,  the  foundress  and  first  abbess  of  Whitby, 
was  a  princess  of  the  blood-royal  and  a  grand-niece  of 
Edwin,  the  first  Christian  king  of  Northumbria.  Her  con- 
vent and  adjoining  monastery  for  monks  soon  became  the 
most  noted  center  of  learning  and  culture  in  Britain.  And 
so  great  was  her  reputation  for  knowledge  and  wisdom 
that  not  only  priests  and  bishops,  but  also  princes  and 
kings  sought  her  counsel  in  important  matters  of  church 
and  state. 

As  to  the  monks  subject  to  her  authority,  she  inspired 
them  with  so  great  a  love  of  knowledge,  and  urged  them 
to  so  thorough  a  study  of  the  Scriptures,  that  her  monas- 

*  See  Histoire  de  Sainte  Badegonde,  Beine  de  France,  in  Chap. 
XX,  par  Em.  Briand,  Paris,  1897. 


WOMAN'S    LONG    STRUGGLE  37 

tery  became,  as  Venerable  Bede  informs  us,  a  school  not 
only  for  missionaries  but  for  bishops  as  well.  He  speaks 
in  particular  of  six  ecclesiastical  dignitaries  who  were 
sent  forth  from  this  noble  institution — all  of  whom  were 
bishops.  Five  of  them  he  describes  as  men  of  singular 
merit  and  sanctity — " singularis  meriti  et  sanctitatis  vivos," 
while  the  sixth,  he  declared,  was  a  man  of  rare  ability  and 
learning — "doctissimus  et  excellentis  ingenii."  Of  this 
number  was  St.  John  of  Beverly,  who,  we  are  told,  "at- 
tained a  degree  of  popularity  rare  even  in  England,  where 
the  saints  of  old  were  so  universally  and  so  readily  popu- 
lar."1 Hilda  governed  her  double  monastery  with  singu- 
lar wisdom  and  success;  and,  so  great  was  the  love  and 
veneration  she  inspired  among  all  classes  that  she  merited 
the  epithet  of  "Mother  of  her  Country." 

Celebrated,  however,  as  Hilda  was  for  her  great  educa- 
tional work  at  Whitby,  she  is  probably  better  known  to  the 
world  as  the  one  who  first  recognized  and  fostered  the 
rare  gifts  of  the  poet  Caedmon.  "It  is  on  the  lips  of  this 
cowherd,"  as  Montalembert  beautifully  expresses  it,  "that 
the  Anglo-Saxon  speech  first  bursts  into  poetry.  Indeed, 
nothing  in  the  whole  history  of  European  literature  is 
more  original  or  more  religious  than  this  first  utterance 
of  the  English  muse."2 

As  soon  as  Hilda  discovered  the  extraordinary  poetic 
faculty  of  Csedmon,  she  did  not  hesitate  to  regard  it  "as 
a  special  gift  of  God,  worthy  of  all  respect  and  of  the  most 
tender  care."  And,  in  order  that  she  might  the  more 
readily  develop  the  splendid  talents  of  this  literary  pro- 
digy, the  keen  discerning  abbess  received  Casdmon  into 
the  monastery  of  monks,  and  had  him  translate  the  entire 
Bible  into  Anglo-Saxon.  "As  soon  as  the  Sacred  Text 
was  read  for  him  he  forthwith,"  as  Bede  declares,  "rumi- 
nated it  as  a  clean  animal  ruminates  its  food,  and  trans- 

iffistoria  Ecclesiastica  Gentis  Anglorum,  Lfb.  IV,  Cap.  23. 
2  The  Monies  of  the  West,  Book  XI,  Chap.  II. 


S8  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

formed  it  into  songs  so  beautiful  that  all  who  heard  were 
delighted. " 

As  his  poetical  faculty  became  more  developed,  his  pro- 
foundly original  genius  became  more  marked,  and  his 
inspiration  more  earnest  and  impassioned.  It  was  this 
Northumbrian  cowherd,  transformed  into  a  monk  of 
Whitby,  who  sang  before  the  abbess  Hilda  the  revolt  of 
Satan  and  Paradise  Lost,  a  thousand  years  earlier  than 
Milton,  in  verses  which  may  still  be  admired  even  beside 
the  immortal  poem  of  the  British  Homer.  So  remarkable, 
indeed,  in  some  instances  is  the  similarity  in  the  produc- 
tions of  the  two  poets  that  F.  Palgrave,  one  of  the  most 
competent  of  English  critics,  does  not  hesitate  to  declare 
that  certain  of  Caedmon's  verses  resembled  so  closely  cer- 
tain passages  of  the  Paradise  Lost  that  some  of  Milton's 
lines  seem  almost  like  a  translation  from  the  work  of  his 
distinguished  predecessor.  And  M.  Taine,  in  his  History 
of  English  LiteraUire,  referring  to  the  "  string  of  short, 
accumulated,  passionate  images,  like  a  succession  of  light- 
ning flashes,"  of  the  old  Anglo-Saxon  poet,  asserts  that 
"Milton's  Satan  exists  in  Caedmon's  as  the  picture  exists 
in  the  sketch. ' ' 1 

Well  could  Caedmon's  first  biographer,  the  Venerable 
Bede,  say  of  him,  i '  Many  Englishmen  after  him  have  tried 
to  compose  religious  poems,  but  no  one  has  ever  equaled  the 
man  who  had  only  God  for  a  master."  And  not  without 
warrant  does  the  eloquent  Montalembert,  in  the  masterly 
work  just  quoted,  pen  the  following  statement:  "Apart 
from  the  interest  which  attaches  to  Caedmon  from  a  his- 
torical and  literary  point  of  view,  his  life  discloses  to  us 
essential  peculiarities  in  the  outward  organization  and 
intellectual  life  of  those  great  communities  which  in  the 
seventh  century  studded  the  coast  of  Northumbria,  and 
which,  with  all  their  numerous  dependents,  found  often  a 
more  complete  development  under  the  crozier  of  such  a 
i  Vol.  I,  pp.  46  and  49,  New  York,  1871. 


WOMAN'S    LONG    STRUGGLE  39 

woman  as  Hilda  than  under  the  superiors  of  the  other 
sex."1 

Space  precludes  my  telling  of  other  convents  which  were 
centers  of  literary  activity,  and  of  nuns  who  distinguished 
themselves  by  their  learning  and  by  the  benign  influence 
which  they  exerted  far  beyond  the  walls  of  the  cloister. 
I  cannot,  however,  refrain  from  referring  to  that  group 
of  learned  English  nuns  who  are  chiefly  known  by  their 
Latin  correspondence  with  St.  Boniface,  the  Apostle  of 
Germany,  and  by  the  assistance  which  they  gave  him  in 
his  arduous  labors.  Conspicuous  among  these  was  St. 
Lioba,  who,  at  the  request  of  Boniface,  left  her  home  in 
England  to  found  a  convent  at  Bischopsheim  in  Germany, 
which,  under  the  direction  of  its  learned  and  zealous  ab- 
bess, soon  became  the  most  important  educational  center 
in  that  part  of  Europe.  Teachers  were  formed  here  for 
other  schools  in  Germany  and  Lioba 's  biographer  tells  us 
that  there  were  few  monasteria  feminarum — monasteries 
of  women — within  the  sphere  of  Boniface 's  missionary  ac- 
tivities for  which  Lioba 's  pupils  were  not  sought  as  in- 
structresses. 

Like  her  illustrious  countrywoman,  St.  Hilda,  the  abbess 
of  Bischopsheim  was  the  friend  and  counselor  of  spiritual 
and  temporal  rulers.  Charlemagne,  that  eminent  patron 
of  scholars,  had  a  great  admiration  for  her  and  gave  her 
many  substantial  proofs  of  his  esteem  and  veneration. 
"Princes,"  writes  her  biographer,  "loved  her,  noblemen 
received  her,  and  bishops  gladly  entertained  her  and  con- 
versed with  her  on  the  Scriptures  and  on  the  institutions 
of  religion,  for  she  was  familiar  with  many  writings  and 
careful  in  giving  advice.    She  was  so  bent  on  reading  that 

lOp.  cit.,  Book  XI,  Chap.  II. 

It  will  interest  the  reader  to  know  that  Caedmon  has  a  place 
among  the  saints  in  the  Acta  Sanctorum  of  the  Bollandists.  See  the 
special  article  on  him  in  Vol.  II,  p.  552,  under  the  caption  of  "De 
S.  Cedmono,  cantore  theodidacto." 


40  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

she  never  laid  aside  her  book  except  to  pray  or  to  strength- 
en her  slight  frame  with  food  or  sleep. ' ' *  She  was  thor- 
oughly conversant  with  the  books  of  the  Old  and  the  New 
Testaments  and  was,  at  the  same  time,  familiar  with  the 
writings  of  the  Fathers.  It  is  not  surprising,  then,  that 
she  was  regarded  as  an  oracle,  and  that  all  classes  flocked 
to  her  as  they  did  to  the  abbess  of  Whitby  for  guidance 
and  assistance. 

From  what  has  been  said  of  the  accomplishments  and 
achievements  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  nuns  just  mentioned,  it 
is  evident  that  they  were,  of  a  truth,  women  of  exceptional 
worth  and  of  sterling  character.  And  it  is  equally  clear 
that  their  pupils  must  have  shared  in  the  education  and 
culture  of  their  distinguished  teachers.2  Many  of  them, 
in  addition  to  having  a  wide  acquaintance  with  literature, 
sacred  and  profane,  were  also  mistresses  of  several  lan- 
guages. A  woman's  education,  at  this  time,  was  not  com- 
plete unless  she  could  write  Latin  and  speak  it  fluently. 
The  author  of  that  most  interesting  early  English  work, 
Ancren  Biwle — Rule  of  Anchoresses — presupposes  in  his 
auditors,  for  whose  benefit  his  instructions  were  given,  a 
knowledge  of  Latin  and  French,  as  well  as  of  English.  In 
certain  convents  Latin  was  almost  the  sole  medium  of 

i  Woman  Under  Monasticism.  Chapter  IV,  §  2,  by  Lina  Ecken- 
stein,  Cambridge,  1896.  In  this  chapter  is  an  interesting  account  of 
the  Anglo-Saxon  nuns  who  were  among  the  correspondents  of  Boni- 
face. 

2  The  reader  will  recall  Chaucer 's  account  in  the  Canterbury  Tales 
of  the  wife  of  the  well-to-do  miller  of  Trumpyngton : 
"A  wyf  he  hadde  y-comen  of  noble  kyn; 


She  was  y-f  ostred  in  a  nonnerye. 

There  dorste  no  wight  clepen  hir  but  'Dame;' 

What  for  hire  kynnrede  and  hir  nortelrie, 
That  she  had  lerned  in  the  nonnerie." 

— Reeve's  Tale. 


WOMAN'S    LONG    STRUGGLE  41 

communication, — to  such  an  extent,  indeed,  that  a  special 
rule  was  made  prohibiting  "the  use  of  the  Latin  tongue 
except  under  special  circumstances.' ' 

' '  As  long  as  the  conventual  system  lasted  the  only  schools 
for  girls  in  England  were  the  convent  schools  where, 
says  Robert  Aske,  'the  daughters  of  gentlemen  were 
brought  up  in  virtue. '  From  an  educational  point  of  view, 
the  suppression  of  the  convents  was  decidedly  a  blunder." 
Thus  writes  Georgiana  Hill  in  her  instructive  work  on 
"Women  in  English  Life,  and  there  are,  we  fancy,  but  few 
readers  of  her  instructive  pages  who  will  not  be  inclined 
to  agree  with  her  conclusions.1  Lecky  speaks  of  the  dis- 
solution of  convents  at  the  time  of  the  Reformation  as  ' '  far 
from  a  benefit  to  women  or  the  world. ' ' 2  And  Dom  Gas- 
quet  declares  ' '  that  destruction  by  Henry  VIII  of  the  con- 
ventual schools  where  the  female  population,  the  rich  as 
well  as  the  poor,  found  their  only  teachers,  was  the  abso- 
lute extinction  of  any  systematic  education  of  women  for 
a  long  period. ' ' 3 

But  this  is  not  all.  The  strangest  and  saddest  result, 
consequent  on  the  suppression  of  the  convents,  was  that 
men  were  made  to  profit  by  the  loss  which  women  had 
sustained.  The  revenues  of  the  houses  that  were  sup- 
pressed had  been  intended  for  the  sole  use  and  behoof  of 
women,  and  had  been  administered  by  them  in  this  sense 
for  centuries.  When  they  were  appropriated  by  Henry 
VIII,  it  never  occurred  to  him  or  his  ministers  to  make 
any  provision  for  the  education  of  women  in  lieu  of  that 
which  had  so  ruthlessly  been  wrested  from  them.  Thus  the 
nunnery  of  St.  Radegund,  together  with  its  revenues  and 
possessions,  was  transformed  into  Jesus  College,  Cam- 
bridge, while  from  the  suppressed  convents  of  Bromhall  in 
Berkshire  and  Lillechurch  in  Kent  funds  were  secured  for 

iPp.  78,  79,  London,  1897. 

2  History  of  European  Morals,  Vol.  II,  p.  369,  New  York,  1905. 

•  Henry  VIII  and  the  English  Monasteries,  London,  1895, 


42  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

the  foundation  and  endowment  of  St.  John's  College,  also 
at  Cambridge.  Similarly,  the  properties  of  other  nun- 
neries, large  and  small,  were  appropriated  for  the  founda- 
tion of  collegiate  institutions  at  Oxford,  all  of  which  were 
for  the  benefit  of  men. 

And  so  it  was  that,  in  a  few  short  years,  the  great  work 
of  centuries  was  undone  and  women  were  left  little  better 
educational  facilities  than  when  the  Anglo-Saxon  nuns 
began  their  noble  work  in  a  land  that  was  enveloped  in 
4 'one  dark  night  of  unillumined  barbarism.' ' 

One  would  have  thought  that  Elizabeth,  who  was  so 
highly  educated,  and  who  did  so  much  for  the  supremacy 
of  her  country  on  land  and  sea,  would  have  bethought  her- 
self of  the  necessity  of  doing  something  for  the  education 
of  her  female  subjects.  But  no.  She  did  nothing  for 
them,  and  the  founders  of  the  endowed  grammar  schools, 
during  her  reign,  gave  never  a  thought  to  the  educational 
necessities  of  the  girls.  They  made  provision  only  for  the 
boys.  In  this  respect,  however,  the  "Virgin  Queen"  was 
but  following  in  the  footsteps  of  the  male  sovereigns  and 
legislators  who  had  preceded  her,  and  who,  although  af- 
fecting an  interest  in  having  women ' '  sensible  and  virtuous, 
seem  by  their  conduct  toward  the  sex  to  have  entered  into 
a  general  conspiracy  to  order  it  otherwise." 

The  truth  is,  when  anything  was  achieved  for  the  intel- 
lectual advancement  of  women  it  was  due  either  to  private 
instruction  or  to  the  result  of  a  protracted  struggle  on 
the  part  of  women  themselves  for  what  they  deemed  their 
indefeasible  rights.  Had  they  relied  on  the  spontaneous 
action  of  men  and  on  legislation  in  favor  of  female  educa- 
tion to  which  men  had  given  the  initiative,  they  would  to- 
day be  in  the  same  condition  of  ignorance  and  seclusion 
and  servitude  as  was  the  Athenian  woman  twenty-five  cen- 
turies ago,  and  would  occupy  a  status  but  little  above  that 
of  the  inmates  of  oriental  harems  and  zenanas. 

The  Anglo-Saxon  nuns  were,  as  we  have  seen,  specially 


WOMAN'S    LONG    STRUGGLE  43 

distinguished  for  their  learning  and  for  the  splendid  work 
they  performed  for  the  education  of  their  sex  during  the 
long  period  of  the  Middle  Ages.  But  however  great  their 
preeminence  in  these  respects,  they  were  not  without  rivals. 
There  were,  besides  the  schools,  already  named,  conducted 
by  St.  Lioba  and  her  companions,  also  flourishing  schools 
in  Germany  under  the  direction  of  native  nuns,  whose  suc- 
cess as  educators  was  as  marked  as  that  of  Lioba  or  Hilda, 
and  who,  in  addition  to  their  labors  in  the  class-room, 
achieved  distinction  by  their  productive  work.  The  Anglo- 
Saxon  convents  developed  few  writers,  whereas  those  of 
Germany  produced  several  who  not  only  shed  luster  on 
their  sex  but  who  also  showed  what  woman  is  capable  of 
accomplishing  when  accorded  some  measure  of  encourage- 
ment and  full  liberty  of  action. 

One  of  the  most  noted  writers  of  her  age  was  the  famous 
nun  of  Gandersheim,  Hroswitha,  who  was  born  in  the 
early  part  of  the  tenth  century.  She  was  the  pupil  of  the 
abbess  Gerberg,  who  was  of  royal  lineage,  and  one  of  the 
most  zealous  promoters  of  learning  and  culture  in  Saxony 
during  the  forty-two  years  of  her  rule  in  the  convent  to 
which  she  and  her  favorite  pupil  gave  undying  renown. 

Hroswitha 's  literary  work  consists  of  legends  and  con- 
temporary history  in  metrical  form  and  of  her  dramas 
written  in  the  style  of  Terence.  As  a  writer  of  history  and 
legends  she  ranks  with  the  best  authors  of  her  time,  while 
as  a  writer  of  dramas  she  stands  absolutely  alone.  Hers, 
indeed,  were  the  first  dramatic  compositions  given  to  the 
world  during  the  long  interval  that  elapsed  between  the 
last  comedies  of  classic  antiquity  and  the  first  of  the  mir- 
acle plays  which  had  such  a  vogue  between  the  twelfth  and 
the  sixteenth  century. 

Her  dramas,  which,  of  all  her  works,  have  attracted  the 
most  attention,  are  seven  in  number.  They  deal  with  the 
moral  and  mental  conflicts  which  characterized  the  period 
of  transition  from  heathendom  to  Christianity.     Some  of 


44  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

them  exhibit  poetic  talent  of  a  high  order  as  well  as  the 
inspiration  and  courage  of  genius.  They  reveal  also  a 
wide  acquaintance  with  the  classic  authors  of  Rome  and 
Greece,  besides  a  knowledge  of  many  of  the  Christian 
writers.  They  are,  likewise,  distinguished  by  originality 
of  treatment,  complete  mastery  of  the  material  used,  as 
well  as  by  genuine  beauty  of  rhyme  and  rhythm.  In  form, 
all  the  plays  preserve  the  simple  directness  of  their  model, 
Terence,  while,  in  conception,  they  embody  the  noblest 
ideals  of  Christian  teaching.  In  marked  contrast  to  her 
model,  who  invariably  exhibits  the  frailties  and  lapses  of 
woman,  Hroswitha's  plays  turn  on  the  resistance  of  her  sex 
to  temptation,  and  on  their  steadfast  adherence  to  duty 
and  to  vows  voluntarily  assumed.  A  recent  English  writer, 
W.  H.  Hudson,  in  an  appreciative  estimate  of  the  work  of 
this  learned  Benedictine  nun  expresses  himself  as  follows: 
"It  is  on  the  literary  side  alone  that  Hroswitha  belongs 
to  the  classic  school.  The  spirit  and  essence  of  her  work 
belong  entirely  to  the  Middle  Ages;  for  beneath  the  rigid 
garb  of  a  dead  language ' ' — she  wrote  in  Latin — ' '  beats  the 
warm  heart  of  a  new  era.  Everything  in  her  plays  that 
is  not  formal  but  essential,  everything  that  is  original  and 
individual,  belongs  wholly  to  the  Christianized  Germany 
of  the  tenth  century.  Everywhere  we  can  trace  the  influ- 
ence of  the  atmosphere  in  which  she  lived;  every  thought 
and  every  motive  is  colored  by  the  spiritual  conditions  of 
her  time.  The  keynote  of  all  her  works  is  the  conflict  of 
Christianity  with  paganism;  and  it  is  worthy  of  remark 
that  in  Hroswitha's  hands  Christianity  is  throughout  rep- 
resented by  the  purity  and  gentleness  of  woman,  while 
paganism  is  embodied  in  what  she  describes  as  the  vigor  of 
men — virile  robur."1 

1  The  English  Historical  Review,  July,  1888. 

Another  recent  writer  affirms  without  hesitation  that  "Hroswitha 
has  earned  a  place  apart  in  the  Pantheon  of  women  poets  and  writers. 
She  alone  in  those  troublous  times  of  the  tenth  century  recalls  to 


WOMAN'S    LONG    STRUGGLE  45 

Among  her  legends  the  one  entitled  The  Lapse  and  Con- 
version of  Theophilus  has  a  special  interest  as  being  the 
precursor  of  the  well-known  legend  of  Faust. 

In  Hroswitha's  time,  as  in  our  own,  there  were  people 
who  were  strongly  opposed  to  the  higher  education  of 
women.  There  were  others  who  would  deny  them  even  the 
elements  of  an  education — who  declared  that  they  should 
be  taught  anything  rather  than  reading  and  writing,  which 
were  a  cause  of  temptation  and  sin — that  their  knowledge 
should  be  confined  solely  to  the  duties  of  an  ordinary  house- 
wife, that  their  books  should  consist  solely  of  thimble, 
thread  and  needles — "Et  leurs  livres,  un  de,  du  fil  et  des 
aguilles."  Some,  it  is  true,  were  willing  to  make  an  ex- 
ception in  favor  of  nuns;  but,  as  to  all  others,  the  less 
they  knew  the  better  it  was  for  their  spiritual,  if  not 
for  their  temporal,  welfare  also.1  To  those  who  were 
thus  minded,  Hroswitha  pithily  replied  that  it  was  not 
knowledge  itself  but  the  bad  use  of  it  that  was  danger- 
ous— "Nee  scientia  scibilis  Deum  offendit,  sed  injustitia 
scientis." 

Among  other  women  who  were  Hroswitha's  equals  in 
knowledge,  if  not  in  literary  attainments,  were  several 
other  nuns  who  illumined  the  closing  centuries  of  the  Mid- 
dle Ages.  Chief  among  these  were  St.  Hildegard,  "the 
sybil  of  the  Rhine";  Herrad,  the  noted  author  of  the 
our  minds  the  existence  of  dramatic  art;  her  name,  indeed,  deserves 
to  be  rescued  from  oblivion  and  to  become  a  household  word."  Fort- 
nightly Review,  p.  450,  March,  1896. 

1  Histoire  de  I  'Education  de  Femmes  en  France,  Tom.  I,  p.  72 
et  seq.  par  Paul  Kousselot,  Paris,  1883. 

A  certain  jurisconsult  of  the  thirteenth  century,  one  Pierre  de 
Navarre,  expressed  the  sentiment  of  many  of  his  contemporaries  when 
he  wrote  the  following  paragraph: 

"Toutes  fames  doivent  savoir  filer  et  coudre;  car  la  pauvre  en 
aura  mestier  et  la  riche  conoistra  mieux  l'oeuvre  des  autres.  A 
fame  ne  doit-on  apprendre  lettre  ni  escrire,  si  ce  n'  est  especiaument 
pour  estre  nonain,  car  par  lire  est  escrire,  de  fame  sont  maint  mal 
avenu. ' ' 


46  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

Eortus  Deliciarum — Garden  of  Delights — and  Matilda  and 
Gertrude,  those  remarkable  mystical  writers,  whose  de- 
scriptions of  heaven  and  hell  so  closely  resemble  those  in 
the  Divina  Commedia  that  many  writers  are  of  the  opinion 
that  the  great  Florentine  poet  must  have  been  familiar 
with  the  accounts  which  they  gave  of  their  visions. 

St.  Hildegard  was  for  a  third  of  a  century  the  abbess  of 
the  convent  of  St.  Kupert  at  Bingen.  So  great  was  her 
reputation  for  sanctity  and  for  the  extent  and  variety  of 
her  attainments  that  she  was  called  "the  marvel  of  Ger- 
many.' '  She  is  without  doubt  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
and  imposing  as  well  as  one  of  the  greatest  figures  of  the 
Middle  Ages — great  beside  such  eminent  contemporaries 
as  Abelard,  Martin  of  Tours  and  Bernard  of  Clairvaux. 
People  from  all  parts  of  the  Christian  world  sought  her 
counsel ;  and  her  convent  at  Bingen  became  a  Mecca  for  all 
classes  and  conditions  of  men  and  women.  But  nothing 
shows  better  the  immense  influence  which  she  wielded  than 
her  letters  of  which  nearly  three  hundred  have  been  pre- 
served. 

Among  her  correspondents  were  people  of  the  humble 
walks  of  life  as  well  as  the  highest  representatives  of 
Church  and  State.  There  were  simple  monks  and  noble 
abbots;  dukes,  kings  and  queens;  archbishops  and  cardi- 
nals and  no  fewer  than  four  Popes.  Letters  came  to  her 
from  the  orient  and  the  Occident,  from  the  patriarch  of 
Jerusalem,  from  Queen  Bertha  of  Greece,  from  Frederick 
Barbarossa,  Philip  the  Count  of  Flanders,  St.  Bernard, 
the  professors  of  the  University  of  Paris;  from  Henry  II 
of  England,  and  from  his  grand-daughter  Eleonora,  "The 
Damsel  of  Brittany."  It  is  safe  to  say  that  no  woman 
during  the  Middle  Ages  exercised  a  wider  or  more  benefi- 
cent influence  than  did  this  humble  Benedictine  abbess  of 
Bingen  on  the  Rhine  and  had  unsought  so  large  a  number 
of  distinguished  correspondents.  And,  if  we  accept  the 
criterion  that  influence  is  measured  by  the  number  and 


WOMAN'S    LONG    STRUGGLE  47 

nature  of  one 's  relations,  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  in  any 
age  relations  that  were  more  select  or  more  cosmopolitan. 

But  her  astonishing  collection  of  letters  is  the  slightest 
product  of  her  intellectual  activity.  She  is  without  doubt 
the  most  voluminous  woman  writer  of  the  Middle  Ages. 
Her  works  on  theology,  Scripture  and  science  make  no  less 
than  six  or  eight  large  octavo  volumes.  The  Bollandists, 
than  whom  there  is  no  more  competent  authority,  express 
their  amazement  at  the  amount  and  quality  of  Hildegard  's 
work.  Witness  the  following  language  of  one  of  their  num- 
ber: "Although  we  may  not  be  surprised  that  our  saint 
was  interrogated  regarding  secret  things  by  so  many  men 
eminent  both  by  reason  of  their  dignity  and  their  learning, 
I  am  nevertheless  forced  to  recognize  with  stupefaction 
that  a  woman  without  instruction,  and  who  had  not  ac- 
quired knowledge  by  study,  was  consulted  concerning  the 
most  difficult  questions  of  theology  and  the  most  subtle  of 
Holy  Scriptures,  and  that  she  gave,  without  hesitation,  the 
answers  that  were  demanded  by  theology  and  Scripture. ' ' x 

Is  it,  then,  surprising  that  the  famous  William  of 
Auxerre,  after  a  critical  examination  of  her  works,  should 
compare  her  with  Peter  Lombard,  the  celebrated  "Master 
of  the  Sentences, ' ' 2  and  one  of  the  most  learned  of  the 

1  Opera  Omnia  8.  Eildegardis,  Tom.  197,  Col.  48  of  Migne  's  Pa- 
trologim  Cursus  Completus.  Cf.  also  Nova  8.  Eildegardis  Opera, 
edidit  Cardinalis  Pitra,  Paris,  1882,  and  Das  Leben  und  Wirlcen  der 
Heiligen  Eildegardis,  von  J.  P.  Schmelzeis,  Freiburg  im  Breisgau, 
1878. 

2 It  was  Peter  Lombard,  whose  Sentences  "became  the  very  canon 
of  orthodoxy  for  all  succeeding  ages,"  who,  in  marked  contrast  with 
those  of  ancient  and  modern  times  that  regarded  woman  as  the  in-' 
ferior  or  slave  of  man,  asserted  her  equality  with  him  in  a  sentence 
that  should  be  written  in  letters  of  gold.  '* Woman,"  he  declares, 
Sententiarum,  Lib.  II,  Disp.  18,  "was  not  taken  from  the  head  of 
man,  for  she  was  not  intended  to  be  his  ruler,  nor  from  his  foot,  for 
she  was  not  intended  to  be  his  slave,  but  from  his  side,  for  she  was 
intended  to  be  his  companion  and  comfort." 

In  this  view  the  great  Schoolman  but  follows  the  teachings  of 


48  >VOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

Schoolmen,  and  write  that  Hildegard  is  Sententiarum 
Magistra — Mistress  of  the  Sentences — and  that  "in  her 
works  the  words  are  not  human  but  divine"?  Has  any 
woman  writer  ever  received  higher  praise,  and  from  one 
so  competent  to  express  an  opinion  as  the  scholarly  divine 
of  Auxerre? 

Herrad,  the  gifted  abbess  of  Hohenburg  in  Alsace,  was 
a  contemporary  of  Hildegard,  and,  like  her,  was  noted  for 
her  culture  and  wide  range  of  knowledge.  She  is  chiefly 
known  for  her  Hortus  Deliciarum,  a  remarkable  work,  en- 
cyclopaedic in  character,  which  she  wrote  for  the  nuns  of 
her  convent  and  which  was  designed  to  embody  in  words 
and  in  pictures  the  knowledge  of  her  age. 

Nothing  that  time  has  bequeathed  to  us  gives  us  a  clearer 
conception  of  the  manifold  activities  of  a  mediaeval  nun- 
nery, of  the  industry,  talents  and  enthusiastic  love  of  learn- 
ing of  its  inmates,  than  Herrad 's  wonderful  Garden  of  De- 
lights. Nor  is  there  any  other  work  that  gives  us  a  better 
knowledge  of  the  manners,  customs  and  ideals  of  the 
twelfth  century,  or  one  that,  in  its  particular  sphere,  is  of 
more  value  to  the  student  of  art,  philology  and  archaeology. 
It  exhibits  Herrad 's  intense  interest  in  the  intellectual 
advancement  of  her  nuns  and  pupils  as  well  as  her  supe- 
rior talent  and  acquirements.  Unfortunately  the  manu- 
script copy  of  this  work  was  destroyed  at  the  time  of  the 
bombardment  of  Strasburg  by  the  Germans  in  1870,  and 
our  knowledge  of  it  is  limited  to  portions  of  it  which  had 
previously  been  transcribed  or  to  accounts  left  of  it  by 
those  who  had  examined  it  before  its  destruction.    Of  such 

St.  Augustine.  For  in  Ms  commentary,  De  Genesi  ad  Litteram, 
Lib.  9,  Cap.  13,  the  learned  bishop  of  Hippo  writes :  ' '  Quia  igitur  viro 
nee  domina  nee  ancilla  parabatur,  sed  socia,  nee  de  capite,  nee  de 
pedibus,  sed  de  latere  fuerat  producenda,  ut  juxta  se  producendam 
cognosceret,  quam  de  suo  latere  sumptam  didecisset. ' '  Again  the 
same  illustrious  doctor  declares  that  woman  was  formed  from  man's 
side  in  order  that  it  might  be  manifest  that  she  was  created  to  be 
united  with  him  in  love — in  consortium  creabatur  dilectionis. 


WOMAN'S   LONG    STRUGGLE  49 

exceptional  value  was  this  unique  work  that  the  editor  of 
the  great  collection  of  pictures,  which  illustrates  this  re- 
markable book,  does  not  hesitate  to  declare  that  "Few  il- 
luminated manuscripts  had  acquired  a  fame  so  well  de- 
served as  the  Hortus  Deliciarum  of  Herrad. ' ' x 

No  sketch,  however  brief,  of  the  literary  nuns  of  medi- 
eval Germany  would  be  complete  without  some  reference 
to  the  learned  religious  of  the  convent  of  Helfta,  near 
Eisleben  in  Saxony.  Of  the  abbess  Gertrude  we  read  that 
her  enthusiasm  for  knowledge  was  so  great  that  she  not 
only  inspired  others  with  the  same  enthusiasm,  but  that 
she  was  an  incessant  collector  of  books,  which  she  had  her 
nuns  transcribe.  Among  her  most  distinguished  subjects 
were  two  religious  by  the  name  of  Matilda,  one  of  whom 
was  her  sister,  and  a  third,  who,  to  distinguish  her  from 
the  abbess,  is  known  as  ' '  Gertrude  the  Great.  *  \ 

The  writings  of  these  nuns  were  inspired  by  that  great 
mystic  movement  which  then  prevailed  in  various  parts  of 
Europe  and  are  among  the  most  impassioned  productions 
of  the  age.  For  this  reason  they  still  have  a  special  claim 
on  the  attention  of  students  of  art  and  literature,  as  well 
as  those  of  theology  and  mysticism.  Impressed  by  the  simi- 
larity of  their  ideas  and  descriptions  as  compared  with 

xCf.  Hortus  Deliciarum,  by  Herrad  de  Lansberg,  folio  with  one 
hundred  and  ten  plates,  Strasburg,  1901,  and  Herrade  de  Lands- 
berg,  by  Charles  Schmidt,  Strasburg. 

The  erudite  academician,  Charles  Jourdain,  says  of  Herrad '9 
great  work  " L 'encyclopedic  qu'on  lui  doit,  lf Hortus  Deliciarum, 
embrasse  toutes  les  parties  des  connaissances  humaines,  depuis  la 
science  divine  jusqu'a  1 'agriculture  et  la  metrologie,  et  on 
s'etonne  a  bon  droit  qu'un  tel  ouvrage,  qui  supposait  une  erudi- 
tion si  variee  et  si  methodique,  soit  sorti  d'une  plume  feminine. 
Quelle  impression  produirait  aujourd'hui  l'annonce  d'une  encyclo- 
pedic qui  aurait  pour  auteur  une  simple,  religieuse?  Parlerons-nous 
des  femmes  du  mondef  II  n'existe  d'elles,  au  XXe  si&cle,  non  plus 
que  dans  les  siecles  precedents  aucun  ouvrage  comparable  a  I' 'Hortus 
Deliciarum."  Excursions  Historiques  et  Philosophiques,  p.  480,  Paris, 
1888. 


50  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

those  found  in  Dante's  great  masterpiece,  there  are  not 
wanting  scholars  who  contend  that  the  prototype  of  the 
Matelda  in  the  earthly  paradise  of  the  Purgatorio  was 
none  other  than  one  of  the  Matildas  of  the  famous  convent 
of  Helfta.1 

The  writings  of  Hroswitha,  Hildegard,  Herrad,  Gertrude 
and  the  Matildas,  to  speak  of  no  others,  are  the  best  evi- 
dence of  the  studious  character  of  the  nuns  of  mediseval 
times,  and  of  their  devotion  to  the  cause  of  education.  They 
command,  likewise,  our  admiration  for  the  system  of  train- 
ing which  made  such  development  possible,  and  show  that, 
in  certain  departments,  the  schools  as  then  conducted  were 
on  as  high  a  plane  as  any  we  have  to-day.2  They  show  us, 
too,  that  nuns  and  convent-bred  women  of  the  age  in 
question  were  of  quite  different  mental  calibre  from  that 
of  the  "gentle  lady  of  chivalry  living  in  her  bower,  play- 
ing upon  her  lute  and  waiting  patiently  for  the  return  of 

*See  Bevelationes  Mechtildiance  ac  Gertrudianw,  edit,  Oudin,  for 
the  Benedictines  at  Solesmes,  1875. 

2  In  her  scholarly  work  on  Woman  Under  Monasticism,  p.  479, 
Lina  Eckenstein  writes  as  follows  regarding  the  studies  pursued  in 
the  convents  of  the  Middle  Ages: 

"The  contributions  of  nuns  to  literature,  as  well  as  incidental 
remarks,  show  that  the  curriculum  of  study  in  the  nunnery  was  as 
liberal  as  that  accepted  by  the  monks,  and  embraced  all  available 
writing  whether  by  Christian  or  profane  authors.  While  Scripture 
and  the  writing  of  the  Fathers  of  the  Church  at  all  times  formed 
the  groundwork  of  monastic  studies,  Cicero  at  this  period  was  read 
by  the  side  of  Boethus,  Virgil  by  the  side  of  Martianus  Capella, 
Terence  by  the  side  of  Isidore  of  Seville.  From  remarks  made  by 
Hroswitha  we  see  that  the  coarseness  of  the  Latin  dramatists  made 
no  reason  for  their  being  forbidden  to  nuns,  though  she  would  have 
seen  it  otherwise;  and,  Herrad  was  so  far  impressed  by  the  wisdom 
of  the  heathen  philosophers  of  antiquity  that  she  pronounced  this 
wisdom  to  be  the  'product  of  the  Holy  Spirit  also/  Throughout 
the  literary  world,  as  represented  by  convents,  the  use  of  Latin  was 
general,  and  made  possible  the  even  spread  of  culture  in  districts 
that  were  widely  remote  from  each  other  and  practically  without 
intercourse. ' ' 


WOMAN'S    LONG    STRUGGLE  51 

her  triumphant  knight/'  and  quite  different,  too,  from  that 
of  the  castle  lady-loves — whose  sole  attractions  were  often 
no  more  than  youth  and  beauty — who  inspired  the  impas- 
sioned lyrics  of  troubadour  and  minnesinger. 

A  recent  writer  sums  up  in  a  few  words  the  status  and 
the  accomplishments  of  the  lady  of  the  abbey  in  the  follow- 
ing paragraph : 

' '  No  institution  of  Europe  has  ever  won  for  the  lady  the 
freedom  and  development  that  she  enjoyed  in  the  con- 
vent in  early  days.  The  modern  college  for  women  only 
feebly  reproduces  it,  since  the  college  for  women  has  arisen 
at  a  time  when  colleges  in  general  are  under  a  cloud.  The 
lady-abbess,  on  the  other  hand,  was  part  of  the  two  great 
social  forces  of  her  time,  feudalism  and  the  Church.  Great 
spiritual  rewards  and  great  worldly  prizes  were  alike  with- 
in her  grasp.  She  was  treated  as  an  equal  by  the  men  of 
her  class,  as  is  witnessed  by  letters  we  still  have  from 
popes  and  emperors  to  abbesses.  She  had  the  stimulus  of 
competition  with  men  in  executive  capacity,  in  scholarship, 
and  in  artistic  production,  since  her  work  was  freely  set 
before  the  general  public ;  but  she  was  relieved  by  the  cir- 
cumstances of  her  environment  from  the  ceaseless  competi- 
tion in  common  life  of  woman  with  woman  for  the  favor  of 
the  individual  man.  In  the  cloister  of  the  great  days,  as 
on  a  small  scale  in  the  college  for  women  to-day,  women 
were  judged  by  each  other  as  men  are  everywhere  judged 
by  each  other,  for  sterling  qualities  of  head  and  heart  and 
character. ' ' * 

Nor  is  this  all.  Never  was  woman  more  highly  hon- 
ored, never  was  her  power  and  influence  greater  than  dur- 
ing tne  period  of  conventual  life  extending  from  Hilda  of 
Whitby  to  Gertrude  and  the  Matildas  of  Helfta,  and  espe- 
cially during  that  golden  period  of  monasticism  and  chiv- 
alry when  cloister  and  court  were  the  radiant  centers  of 
learning  and  culture.    Abbesses  took  part  in  ecclesiastical 

i  The  Lady,  p.  71,  by  Emily  James  Putnam,  New  York,  1910. 


52  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

synods  and  councils  and  assisted  in  the  deliberations  of 
national  assemblies.  In  England,  they  ranked  with  lords 
temporal  and  spiritual,  and  had  the  right  to  attend  the 
king's  council  or  to  send  proxies  to  represent  them,  while 
in  Germany,  where  they  held  property  directly  from  the 
king  or  emperor,  they  enjoyed  the  rights  and  privileges  of 
barons  and,  as  such,  took  part  in  the  proceedings  of  the 
imperial  diet  either  in  person  or  through  their  accredited 
representatives.  In  Saxony,  the  abbesses  had  the  right  to 
strike  coins  bearing  their  own  portraits,  notably  the  ab- 
besses of  Gandersheim  and  Quedlinburg.  In  England 
they  were  invested  with  extraordinary  powers,  and  in  cer- 
tain cases  owed  obedience  to  none  save  the  Pope.  In  Kent 
abbesses,  as  representatives  of  religion,  came  immediately 
after  bishops. 

Possessing  such  power  and  prestige,  it  is  not  surprising 
to  learn  that  abbesses  wielded  great  influence  in  temporal 
as  well  as  spiritual  matters;  that  it  pervaded  politics  and 
extended  to  the  courts  of  kings  and  emperors.  Thus, 
Matilda,  the  abbess  of  Quedlinburg,  together  with  Adel- 
heid,  the  mother  of  Otto  III  who  was  but  three  years  old 
at  the  time  of  his  father's  death,  practically  ruled  the 
empire.  At  a  later  period  during  the  prolonged  absence 
in  Italy  of  Otto  III,  the  control  of  affairs  was  entrusted  to 
the  abbess  alone ;  and  so  successful  was  her  administration, 
and  so  vigorous  were  the  measures  which  she  adopted 
against  the  invading  Wends,  that  she  commanded  the  ad- 
miration of  all.  In  view  of  these  facts,  the  learned  author- 
ess of  Woman  Under  Monasticism  is  fully  warranted  in 
declaring  as  she  does  "The  career  open  to  the  inmates  of 
convents  in  England  and  on  the  Continent  was  greater 
than  any  other  ever  thrown  open  to  women  in  the  course 
of  modern  European  history. ' ' x 

"The  educational  influence  of  convents  during  cen- 
turies," continues  the  same  writer,  "cannot  be  rated  too 

i  Eckenstein,  op.  cit.;  p.  478. 


WOMAN'S    LONG    STRUGGLE  53 

highly.  Not  only  did  their  inmates  attain  considerable 
knowledge  but  education  in  a  nunnery,  as  we  see  from 
Chaucer  and  others,  secured  an  improved  standing  for 
those  who  were  not  professed. ' ' x  It  prepared  the  way  for, 
if  it  did  not  train,  those  highly  educated  women  who  ap- 
peared during  the  time  of  the  transition  between  the  Mid- 
dle Ages  and  what  is  now  designated  as  the  Modern  Period. 
Among  these  were  Christine  de  Pisan,  who  was  a  prolific 
writer  on  many  subjects  in  both  prose  and  verse,  and  who, 
it  is  said,  was  the  first  woman  to  earn  a  livelihood  by  her 
pen.2  There  were  also  some  of  those  remarkable  women 
who  lectured  on  law  in  the  University  of  Bologna,  among 
whom  were  Bettina  Gozzadini,3  who,  some  writers  will 
have  it,  occupied  the  chairs  of  law  in  her  alma  mater  as 
early  as  1236,  and  the  celebrated  Novella  d 'Andrea,  of  the 
following  century,  who  frequently  acted  as  a  substitute  for 
her  father,  a  professor  of  canon  law  in  the  university,  and 
who,  by  reason  of  her  varied  and  profound  knowledge,  held 
a  prominent  place  among  the  most  learned  men  of  her 
time.  Both  of  these  noted  women  were  worthy  prototypes 
of  that  long  list  of  learned  Italian  women  who,  during  the 
Renaissance,  won  such  honor  for  themselves  and  such  un- 
dying glory  for  their  country.  Not  less  remarkable  were 
several  women  of  the  school  of  Salerno,  who,  during  its 
palmiest  days,  distinguished  themselves  as  teachers,  writers 
and  medical  practitioners,4  and  the  still  more  remarkable 

iUt.  Sup.,  479-480. 

2  See  Womankind  in  Western  Europe,  p.  288  et  seq.,  by  Thomaa 
Wright,  London,  1869. 

3<<Pertinere  videtur  ad  hsec  tempora  Betisia  Gozzadini  non  minus 

generis  claritate  quam  eloquentia  ac  legum  professione  illustris 

Betisiam  Ghirardaccius  et  nostri  ab  eo  deinceps  scriptores  eximiis 
laudibus  eertatim  extulerunt. ' '  De  Claris  Archigymnasii  Bononiensis 
Professoribus  a  Sceculo  XI  usque  ad  Swculum  XIV,  Tom.  I,  p.  171, 
Bologna,  1888-1896. 

*L'Ecole  de  Salerne,  p.  18,  par  C.  Meaux,  Paris,  1880.  Among 
the  most  noted  of  these  women  was  Trotula,  who,  about  the  middle 


54  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

daughters  of  one  Mangord,  a  professor  of  Paris,  whose 
daughters  taught  Sacred  Scripture.1  There  were  few  in 
number,  it  is  true,  but  they  were  the  worthy  prototypes 
of  those  learned  and  brilliant  women  who  achieved  such 
distinction  and  glory  for  their  sex  during  that  most  inter- 
esting period  of  history  known  as  the  Renaissance. 

WOMAN  AND  EDUCATION  DURING  THE  RENAISSANCE 

By  the  Renaissance  we  understand  not  only  a  phase  in 
the  development  of  the  nations  of  Europe  but  also  that 
period  of  transition  between  the  mediaeval  and  the  modern 
world  during  which  the  latent  spiritual  energies  of  the 
Middle  Ages  developed  into  the  intellectual  forces  and 
moral  habits  of  thought  which  now  pervade  the  civilized 
world.  Various  dates  are  assigned  for  its  starting  point. 
Among  them  is  the  fall  of  Constantinople  in  1453,  when 
there  was  a  great  influx  of  scholars  from  the  famed  metrop- 
olis on  the  Bosphorus  to  the  Italian  peninsula,  who  brought 
with  them  those  forgotten  treasures  of  science  and  litera- 

of  the  eleventh  century,  wrote  on  the  diseases  of  women  as  well  as 
on  other  medical  subjects.  Compare  the  attitude  of  the  school  of 
Salerno  towards  women  with  that  of  the  University  of  London,  eight 
hundred  years  later.  When,  in  the  latter  half  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury, women  applied  to  this  university  for  degrees  in  medicine,  they 
were  informed,  as  H.  Rashdall  writes  in  The  Universities  of  Eu- 
rope in  the  Middle  Ages,  Vol.  II,  Part  II,  p.  712,  Oxford,  1895,  that 
1 '  the  University  of  London,  although  it  had  been  empowered  by  Eoyal 
Charter  to  do  all  things  that  could  be  done  by  any  University,  was 
legally  advised  that  it  could  not  grant  degrees  to  women  without  a 
fresh  Charter,  because  no  University  had  ever  granted  such  de- 
grees. ' '  Cf .  also  Haeser  's  Lehrbuch  der  Geschichte  der  Medicin,  Band 
I,  p.  645,  et  seq.,  Jena,  1875.  Verily,  the  so-called  dark  ages  have 
risen  up  to  condemn  our  vaunted  age  of  enlightenment! 

xT>ie  Entstehung  der  Universitdten  des  Mittelalters  bis  1400,  Band 
I,  p.  233,  Berlin,  1885,  von  P.  Heinrick  Denifle,  assistant  archivist  of 
the  Vatican  Library,  and  Histoire  Literaire  de  la  France,  Commence 
par  des  Beligieux  Benedictins  de  S.  Maur  et  Continue  par  des  Mem- 
bres  de  VInstitut,  Tom.  IX,  281,  Paris,  1733-1906. 


WOMAN'S    LONG    STRUGGLE  55 

ture  which  were  so  instrumental  in  producing  that  inter- 
esting phenomenon  known  in  history  as  the  Revival  of 
Learning.  But  whatever  date  be  assigned  for  the  begin- 
ning of  the  Renaissance,  whether  it  be  the  year  when  Con- 
stantinople fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Turk  or  the  fateful 
millennial  year  which  was  to  witness  the  termination  of  all 
things,  there  certainly  was  never  at  any  period  a  distinct 
breach  of  historical  continuity  between  the  old  order  and 
the  new. 

This  is  particularly  true  of  Italy  where  the  Renaissance 
had  its  origin.  For  here,  during  the  entire  mediaeval  pe- 
riod, there  never  was  a  time  when  the  study  of  antiquity 
was  completely  neglected;  when  the  traditions  of  the  old 
Roman  culture  had  died  out,  or  when  the  art  and  the 
literature  of  the  classical  ages  of  the  past  had  ceased  to 
exert  an  influence  on  artists  and  scholars.  Ozanam  was, 
then,  right  when  he  declared  that  the  night  of  the  Dark 
Age,  which  in  Italy  intervened  between  "the  intellectual 
daylight  of  antiquity  and  the  dawn  of  the  Renaissance, ' ' 
was,  in  reality,  like  ' '  one  of  those  luminous  nights  in  which 
the  fading  brightness  of  evening  is  prolonged  into  the 
first  beaming  of  the  morning. '  ■ 1 

So  much,  indeed,  was  this  the  case  that  those  who  have 
made  the  most  profound  study  of  the  Middle  Ages  recog- 
nize a  first  Renaissance  in  the  twelfth  century,  which  was 
not  less  real  than  the  Renaissance  par  excellence  of  the 
fifteenth  century,  a  renaissance  which  counts  such  masters 
of  Latinity  as  Abelard,  John  of  Salisbury  and  Hildebert 
of  Tours,  and  such  schools  as  that  of  Chartres,  where  clas- 
sical Latin  was  taught  with  as  much  thoroughness  as  in 
the  great  universities  of  Europe  during  the  brilliant  age 
of  the  humanists.  It  was  then,  as  Rashdall  truly  observes, 
that  "a  revival  of  architecture  heralded,   as  it  usually 

i '  *  Une  de  ces  nuits  lumineuses  ou  les  dernieres  clartes  du  soir 
se  prolongent  jusqu  'aux  premieres  blaneheurs  du  matin. ' ;  Documents 
Inedits,  p.  78,  Paris,  1850. 


66  WOMAN   IN    SCIENCE 

does,  a  wider  revival  of  Art.  The  schools  of  Christendom 
became  thronged  as  they  were  never  thronged  before.  A 
passion  for  enquiry  took  the  place  of  the  old  routine.  The 
Crusades  brought  different  parts  of  Europe  into  contact 
with  one  another  and  into  contact  with  the  new  world  of 
the  East — with  a  new  religion  and  a  new  philosophy,  with 
the  Arabic  Aristotle,  with  the  Arabic  commentators  on 
Aristotle,  and  eventually  even  with  Aristotle  in  the  original 
Greek."1 

Koughly  speaking,  the  Renaissance  attained  its  culmina- 
tion during  the  second  half  of  the  fifteenth  century.  It 
was  during  this  period  that  gunpowder  and  printing  with 
movable  types  were  invented — the  first  completely  revolu- 
tionizing the  methods  of  warfare  and  the  second  marvel- 
ously  facilitating  the  diffusion  of  knowledge.  And  it  was 
during  the  same  period  also  that  Vasca  da  Gama  doubled 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  that  Columbus  crossed  the  Sea  of 
Darkness  and  that  Copernicus  laid  the  foundation  of  mod- 
ern astronomy. 

But  this  wonderful  half-century  constituted  only  a  small 
portion  of  the  period  embraced  by  the  Renaissance.  From 
the  fall  of  Constantinople  until  it  attained  the  highest 
phase  of  development  in  England,  the  Renaissance  covers 
a  period  of  nearly  two  centuries.  The  progress  of  the 
intellectual  and  moral  movement  which  it  represented,  from 
the  land  of  its  birth,  to  the  northern  and  western  parts  of 
Europe,  was  comparatively  slow.  Thus,  while  Italy  was 
exhibiting  the  full  effulgence  of  the  re-birth,  England  was 
still  in  the  feudal  condition  of  the  Middle  Ages.  A  strik- 
ing illustration  of  this  truth  is  seen  in  the  fact  that  "a 
brother  of  the  Black  Prince  banqueted  with  Petrarch  in 
the  palace  of  Galeazzo  Visconti — that  is  to  say,  the  founder 
of  Italian  humanism,  the  representative  of  Italian  despotic 
state-craft,  and  the  companion  of  Froissart's  heroes  met 

i  The  Universities  of  Europe  in  the  Middle  Ages,  Vol.  I,  p.  31, 
Oxford,  1895. 


WOMAN'S   LONG    STRUGGLE  57 

together  at  a  marriage  feast."  "In  Italy/ '  as  Symonds 
has  shown,  "the  keynote  was  struck  by  the  Novella,  as  in 
England  by  the  drama. ' '  *  The  supreme  exponents  of  the 
Renaissance  as  manifested  in  literature  were,  without 
doubt,  Ariosto  in  Italy,  Rabelais  in  France,  Cervantes  in 
Spain,  Camoens  in  Portugal,  Erasmus  in  the  Netherlands 
and  Shakespeare  in  England. 

Considering  the  splendid  achievements  of  men  during  the 
Eenaissance  in  every  department  of  intellectual  activity, 
one  would  imagine  that  women  also  would  have  attained  to 
a  somewhat  proportionate  distinction,  at  least  in  literature 
and  the  arts.  But,  outside  of  Italy,  this  was  far  from  be- 
ing the  case.  In  France,  Spain,  Portugal  and  England 
there  were,  it  is  true,  a  certain  number  of  women  who  won 
distinction  by  their  talents  and  learning,  but  these  were 
the  exceptions  which  but  served  to  throw  into  greater  re- 
lief the  prevailing  ignorance  of  the  great  mass  of  their  sex, 
which  had  few,  if  any,  of  the  advantages  of  instruction, 
even  in  the  most  elementary  branches  of  knowledge. 

The  Italian  women,  as  we  have  already  seen,  had  com- 
manded marked  recognition  for  their  talents  and  learning 
even  before  the  close  of  the  Middle  Ages.  The  most  famous 
of  these  were  among  those  who,  having  obtained  the  doc- 
torate, became  lecturers  and  professors  in  the  great  univer- 
sity of  Bologna.  The  existence  and  accomplishments  of 
some  of  these  may,  perhaps,  be  more  or  less  legendary,  but 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  many  of  them,  some  before  the 
time  of  the  Renaissance,  had  gained  a  European  reputation 
for  the  breadth  and  variety  of  their  attainments.  But  it 
was  during  the  Renaissance  that  the  remarkable  flowering 
of  the  intellect  of  the  Italian  woman  was  seen  at  its  best. 
While  the  women  in  the  other  parts  of  Europe,  especially 
in  England  and  Germany,  were  suffering  the  ill  effects 
consequent  on  the  suppression  of  the  convents,  which,  for 

*  A  Short  History  of  the  Benaissan,ce  in  Italy,  p.  277,  London, 
1893. 


58  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

centuries,  had  been  almost  the  only  schools  available  for 
girls,  the  women  of  Italy  were  taking  an  active  part  in  the 
great  educational  movement  inaugurated  by  the  revival  of 
learning,  and  winning  the  highest  honors  for  their  sex  in 
every  department  of  science,  art  and  literature.  Not  since 
the  days  of  Sappho  and  Aspasia  had  woman  attained  such 
prominence,  and  never  were  they,  irrespective  of  class- 
condition,  accorded  greater  liberty,  privileges  or  honor. 
The  universities,  which  had  been  opened  to  them  at  the  close 
of  the  Middle  Ages,  gladly  conferred  upon  them  the  doc- 
torate, and  eagerly  welcomed  them  to  the  chairs  of  some 
of  their  most  important  faculties.  The  Renaissance  was, 
indeed,  the  heydey  of  the  intellectual  woman  throughout 
the  whole  of  the  Italian  peninsula — a  time  when  woman 
enjoyed  the  same  scholastic  freedom  as  men,  and  when 
Mme.  de  Stael's  dictum,  Le  genie  n'a  pas  de  sexe,  ex- 
pressed a  doctrine  admitted  in  practice  and  not  an 
academic  theory. 

It  would  require  a  large  volume,  or  rather  many  vol- 
umes, to  do  justice  to  the  learned  women  of  Italy  who 
conferred  such  honor  upon  their  sex  during  the  period  we 
are  considering.  Suffice  it  to  mention  a  few  of  those  who 
achieved  special  distinction  and  whose  memories  are  still 
green  in  the  land  which  had  been  made  so  illustrious  by 
their  talent  and  genius. 

That  which  the  modern  reader  finds  the  most  surprising 
in  the  Italian  women  of  the  Eenaissance  is  their  enthusiasm 
for  the  Uteres  humaniores — the  Latin  and  Greek  classics — 
and  the  proficiency  which  so  many  of  them,  even  at  an 
early  age,  attained  in  the  literature  and  philosophy  of 
antiquity.  It  was  no  uncommon  thing  for  a  girl  in  her 
teens  to  write  and  speak  Latin,  while  many  of  them  were 
almost  equally  familiar  with  Greek.1     Thus  Laura  Bren- 

i  Cecelia  Gonzaga,  a  pupil  of  the  celebrated  humanist,  Vittorino 
da  Feltre,  read  the  Gospels  in  Greek  when  she  was  only  seven  years 
old.    Isotta  and  Ginevra  Nogorola,  pupils  of  the  humanist,  Guarino 


WOMAN'S    LONG    STRUGGLE  59 

zoni,  of  Verona,  had  such  a  mastery  of  these  two  languages 
that  she  wrote  and  spoke  them  with  ease,  while  Alessandra 
Scala  was  so  familiar  with  them  that  she  employed  them 
in  writing  poetry.  Lorenza  Strozzi,  who  was  educated  in 
a  convent  and  eventually  became  a  nun,  was  distinguished 
for  her  great  versatility,  for  her  profound  knowledge  of 
science  and  art,  as  well  as  for  her  proficiency  in  Latin  and 
Greek.  Her  Latin  poems  were  so  highly  valued  that  they 
were  translated  into  foreign  languages.  Livia  Chiavello, 
of  Fabriano,  was  celebrated  as  one  of  the  most  brilliant 
representatives  of  the  Petrarchan  school.  Her  style  was 
so  pure  and  noble  that,  had  Petrarch  not  lived,  she  alone 
would  have  upheld  the  honor  of  the  vulgar  tongue.  So  suc- 
cessful was  Isotta  of  Rimini  in  the  cultivation  of  the 
Muses  that  she  was  hailed  as  another  Sappho.  Cassandra 
Fedele,  of  Venice,  deserved,  according  to  Polizian,  the 
noted  Florentine  humanist,  to  be  ranked  with  that  famous 
universal  genius,  Pico  de  la  Mirandola.  So  extensive  were 
her  attainments  that  in  addition  to  being  a  thorough  mis- 
tress of  Latin  and  Greek,  she  was  likewise  distinguished 
in  music,  eloquence,  philosophy  and  even  theology.  Leo  X, 
Louis  XII  of  France,  and  Isabella  of  Spain  were  eager  to 
have  her  as  an  ornament  for  their  courts,  but  the  Venetian 
senate  was  so  proud  of  its  treasure  that  it  was  unwilling 
to  have  her  depart.    Catarina  Cibo,  of  Genoa,  was  another 

Verronese,  likewise  distinguished  themselves  at  an  early  age  by  their 
rare  knowledge  of  Latin  and  Greek.  In  later  years  all  three  en- 
joyed great  celebrity  for  their  learning,  and  were,  like  Battista  di 
Montefeltro,  women  of  genuine  humanist  sympathies.  Cecelia  Gon- 
zaga's  scholarship  was  in  no  wise  inferior  to  that  of  her  learned 
brothers,  who  were  among  the  most  noted  students  of  the  famous  Casa 
Zoyosa  in  Mantua,  where  Vittorino  da  Feltre  achieved  such  distinc- 
tion as  an  educator  in  the  early  part  of  the  Italian  Renaissance.  The 
learned  Italian  writer,  Sabbadini,  beautifully  expressed  the  relation 
of  women  to  Humanism,  when  he  declares,  in  his  Vida  di  Guarino, 
"L'Humanismo  si  sposa  alia  gentilezsa  feminile," — humanism  weds 
feminine  gentility. 


60  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

prodigy  of  learning ;  for,  besides  a  knowledge  of  Latin  and 
Greek,  philosophy  and  theology,  she  was  well  acquainted 
with  Hebrew.  Donna  Felice  Rasponi,  of  Ravenna,  devoted 
herself  to  the  study  of  Plato  and  Aristotle,  of  Scripture 
and  the  Fathers.  But,  for  the  extent  and  variety  of  her 
attainments,  Tarquinia  Molza  seems  to  have  eclipsed  all 
her  contemporaries.  She  had  as  teachers  the  ablest  schol- 
ars of  an  age  of  distinguished  scholars.  Not  only  did  she 
excel  in  poetry  and  the  fine  arts,  but  she  also  had  a  rare 
knowledge  of  astronomy  and  mathematics,  Latin,  Greek 
and  Hebrew.  And  so  great  was  the  esteem  in  which  she 
was  held  that  the  senate  of  Rome  conferred  on  her  the 
singular  honor  of  Roman  citizenship,  transmissible  in  per- 
petuity to  her  descendants.  The  Sovereign  Pontiff  anc 
the  flower  of  the  Roman  prelacy  begged  her  to  take  up  hei 
residence  in  the  Eternal  City,  but  she  could  not  be  pre- 
vailed upon  to  leave  the  land  of  her  birth. 

In  the  arts  of  sculpture  and  painting  the  women  of  Italy 
during  the  Renaissance,  were  no  less  illustrious  than  the} 
were  in  science,  literature  and  philosophy.  Indeed,  mani 
of  the  treasures  in  the  Italian  churches  and  art  galleries 
that  still  delight  all  lovers  of  the  beautiful  are  from  th( 
chisel  and  the  brush  of  women  who  achieved  distinctioi 
between  three  and  four  centuries  ago.1 

Probably  the  most  famous  sculptress  was  Properzia  d( 
Rossi,  whose  ability  was  so  remarkable  that  she  excitec 
the  envy  of  the  men  who  were  her  competitors.2  Among 
painters  there  was  Suor  Plantilla  Nelli,  who  was  a  nun 
and  prioress  in  the  convent  of  Santa  Catarina  in  Florence 
Both  Lanzi  and  Vasari  bestow  high  praise  on  her  work 
and  declare  some  of  her  productions  to  be  of  rare  excel 

i  Among  them  are  the  pictures  of  Caterina  Vigri,  which  are  pre 
served  in  the  Pinacoteca  of  Bologna  and  in  the  Academia  of  Venice 

2  No  less  an  authority  than  the  illustrious  sculptor,  Canova,  d€ 
clared  that  her  early  death  was  one  of  the  greatest  losses  ever  si 
fered  by  Italian  art, 


WOMAN'S    LONG    STRUGGLE  61 

lence.  There  were  also  Maria  Angela  Crisculo,  of  whose 
splendid  work  many  examples  are  still  preserved  in  the 
churches  of  Naples,  and  Lavinia  Fontana  of  Bologna,  who 
exhibited  such  extraordinary  ability  as  an  artist  that  some 
of  her  pictures  passed  for  the  work  of  her  great  contem- 
porary, Guido  Reni.1  Still  more  remarkable  were  the 
achievements  of  four  sisters  of  the  noted  family  Anguisci- 
ola  of  Cremona.  So  admirable  was  the  work  of  the  eldest 
sister,  Sofonisba,  that  Philip  II  invited  her  to  his  court  in 
Spain,  where  she  excited  the  amazement  of  every  one  by 
the  splendid  canvases  which  she  executed  for  her  illus- 
trious patron  and  for  the  members  of  the  royal  family. 

Of  the  fifty  female  poets  who  flourished  in  Italy  during 
the  Renaissance  the  most  eminent  were  Gaspara  Stampa, 
Veronica  Gambara,  and  Vittoria  Colonna.  Of  such  merit 
and  exquisite  finish  were  the  productions  of  their  Muse 
that  they  are  still  read  with  never  failing  pleasure.  So 
highly  did  Cardinal  Bembo, — the  famous  "dictator  of  let- 
ters"— value  the  scholarship  and  critical  acumen  of  Vero- 
nica Gambara  that  he  never  published  anything  without 
previously  submitting  it  to  her  judgment.  But  far  more 
eminent  as  a  poet  was  the  noble  and  accomplished  Marchesa 
of  Pescara,  Vittoria  Colonna,  who,  on  account  of  her  talents 
and  virtues,  was  named  La  Divina.  The  friend  and  ad- 
viser of  scholars  and  the  confidante  of  princes,  she  repre- 
sented, as  has  truly  been  said,  "the  best  phases  of  the  Re- 
naissance, its  learning,  its  intelligence,  its  enthusiasm,  its 
subtle  Platonism,  combined  with  a  profound  religious  faith 
and  the  trace  of  the  mysticism  of  a  simpler  age."  The 
chorus  of  universal  praise  which  was  sung  by  her  contem- 
poraries is  well  echoed  by  Ariosto  when  he  writes  of  her: 
"She  has  not  only  made  herself  immortal  by  her  beauti- 
ful style,  of  which  I  have  heard  not  better,  but  she  can 

lit  was  also  said  of  the  Venetian  artist,  Irene  di  Spilimbergo, 
that  her  pictures  were  of  such  excellence  that  they  were  frequently 
mistaken  for  those  of  her  illustrious  master,  Titian. 


62  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

raise  from  the  tomb  those  of  whom  she  speaks  or  writes  and 
make  them  live  forever."  But  it  was  as  the  friend  and 
inspirer  of  Michaelangelo  that  she  is  best  known  to  us  to- 
day. "Without  wings,"  he  writes  to  her,  "I  fly  with  your 
wings;  by  your  genius  I  am  raised  to  the  skies;  in  your 
soul  my  thought  is  born." 

Among  those  who  specially  distinguished  themselves  for 
their  profound  scholarship,  as  exhibited  in  the  halls  of  uni- 
versities, were  Dorotea  Bucca,  who  occupied  a  chair  of 
medicine  in  the  University  of  Bologna,  where,  by  reason 
of  her  rare  eloquence  and  learning,  she  had  students  from 
all  parts  of  Europe ;  Laura  Ceretta,  of  Brescia,  who,  dur- 
ing seven  years,  gave  public  lectures  on  philosophy;  Bat- 
tista  Malatesta,  of  Urbino,  who  taught  philosophy  with 
such  marked  success  that  the  most  distinguished  professors 
of  the  day  were  forced  to  recognize  themselves  as  her  in- 
feriors; and  Fulvia  Olympia  Morati,  who  "at  the  age  of 
fourteen  wrote  Latin  letters  and  dialogues  in  Greek  and 
Latin  in  the  style  of  Plato  and  Cicero, ' '  and  who,  when  she 
was  scarcely  sixteen,  "was  invited  to  give  lectures  in  the 
University  of  Ferrara  on  the  philosophical  problems  of 
the  Paradoxes  of  Cicero."  So  great,  indeed,  was  her 
knowledge  of  the  ancient  languages  that  she  was  offered 
the  professorship  of  Greek  in  the  University  of  Heidelberg ; 
but  death  cut  short  her  brilliant  career  before  she  could 
enter  upon  her  duties  in  this  famed  institution  of  learning. 
It  was  female  professors  of  this  type — masters  of  Greek 
and  Latin  letters,  who  in  the  words  of  a  recent  writer, 
1 '  sent  forth  from  Italy  such  students  as  Moritz  von  Spiegel- 
berg  and  Rudolph  Agricola,  to  reform  the  instruction  of 
Deventer  and  Zwoll  and  prepare  the  way  for  Erasmus  and 
Reuchlin." 

In  the  preceding  list  of  learned  women — and  but  a  few 
only  have  been  named  of  the  many  who  in  every  city  of 
importance  conferred  undying  glory  on  their  sex — it  is 
clear  that  the  Renaissance  in  Italy  was,  indeed,  the  golden 


WOMAN'S    LONG    STRUGGLE  63 

age  of  women.  Never  in  history  had  they  greater  freedom 
of  action  in  things  of  the  mind;  never  were  they,  except 
probably  in  the  case  of  the  English  and  German  abbesses 
of  the  Middle  Ages,  treated  with  more  marked  deference 
and  consideration  or  fairness ;  never  were  their  efforts  more 
highly  appreciated  or  more  generously  rewarded,  and  never 
was  their  success  more  highly  and  enthusiastically  ap- 
plauded. Temporal  and  spiritual  rulers,  princes  and  car- 
dinals, Popes  and  emperors  vied  with  one  another  in  paying 
just  tribute  to  woman's  genius  as  well  as  to  woman's  vir- 
tue. The  nun  in  the  cloister  as  well  as  the  lady  in  the 
palace  shared  in  the  general  enthusiasm  for  learning,  and 
they  enjoyed  throughout  the  peninsula  the  same  opportuni- 
ties as  men  and  received  the  same  recognition  for  their 
work.  Everywhere  the  intellectual  arena  was  open  to  them 
on  the  same  terms  as  to  men.  Incapacity  and  not  sex  was 
the  only  bar  to  entrance. 

But  the  men  of  those  days,  especially  scholars  of  the 
type  of  Bembo,  Politian  and  Ariosto,  were  liberal  and 
broad-minded  men,  who  never  for  a  moment  imagined  that 
a  woman  was  out  of  her  sphere  or  unsexed  because  she  wore 
a  doctor's  cap  or  occupied  a  university  chair.  And  far 
from  stigmatizing  her  as  a  singular  or  strong-minded 
woman,  they  recognized  her  as  one  who  had  but  enhanced 
the  graces  and  virtues  of  her  sex  by  the  added  attractions 
of  a  cultivated  mind  and  a  developed  intellect.  Not  only 
did  she  escape  the  shafts  of  satire  and  ridicule,  which  are 
so  frequently  aimed  at  the  educated  woman  of  to-day,  but 
she  was  called  into  the  councils  of  temporal  and  spiritual 
rulers  as  well. 

Woe  betide  the  ill-advised  misogynist  who  should  venture 
to  declaim  against  the  inferiority  of  the  female  sex,  or  to 
protest  against  the  honors  which  an  appreciative  and  a 
chivalrous  age  bestowed  upon  it  with  so  lavish  a  hand.  The 
women  of  Italy,  unlike  those  of  other  nations,  knew  how 
to  defend  themselves,  and  were  not  afraid  to  take,  when 


64,  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

occasion  demanded,  the  pen  in  self-defense.  This  is  evi- 
denced by  numerous  works  which  were  written  in  response 
to  certain  narrow-minded  pamphleteers — piiseri  pedanti, 
pitiful  pedants, — who  would  have  the  activities  of  women 
limited  to  the  nursery  or  the  kitchen.1 

A  striking  characteristic  of  these  learned  women  wj 
the  entire  absence  of  all  priggism  or  pedantry.  Whethei 
lecturing  on  law  or  philosophy,  or  discoursing  in  Latin  be 
fore  Popes  and  cardinals,  or  taking  part  in  discussions  01 
art  and  literature  with  the  eminent  humanists  of  the  day 
they  ever  retained  that  beautiful  simplicity  which  give 
such  a  charm  to  true  greatness  of  mind  and  is  the  best 
dex  of  true  scholarship  and  noble,  symmetrical  womanhood 

Nor  did  the  rare  intellectual  attainments  of  these  daugh 
ters  of  Italy  destroy  that  harmony  of  creation  which,  some 
will  have  it,  is  sure  to  be  jeopardized  by  giving  women  the 
same  educational  advantages  as  men.  So  far  was  this  froi 
being  the  case  that  there  were  never  more  loyal  and  help 
ful  wives  nor  more  devoted  and  stimulating  mothers  thai 
there  were  among  those  women  who  wrote  verses  in  the  Ian 
guage  of  Sappho,  or  delivered  public  addresses  in  th< 
tongue  of  Cicero.  Still  less  did  their  serious  and  long-pro 
tracted  studies  entail  any  of  the  dangers  we  hear  so  mucl 
of  nowadays.  The  large  and  healthy  families  of  many  oi 
them  prove  that  intellectual  work,  even  of  the  highest  oi 
der,  is  not  incompatible  with  motherhood;  and  still  leg 
that  it,  per  se,  conduces,  as  is  so  often  asserted,  to  race 

i  Among  these  works  may  be  mentioned  II  Merito  delle  Donne,  bj 
Modesta  Pozzo  di  Zorgi,  Venice,  1600;  La  Nobilitd  e  VExcellenza 
delle  Donne,  by  Lucrezia  Marinelli,  Venice,  1601;  De  Ingenii  Mulie 
bris  ad  Doctrinam  et  Meliores  Litteras  Aptitudine,  by  Anna  va] 
Schurman,  Leyden,  1641;  Les  Dames  Illustres,  by  Jaquette  Guillame 
Paris,  1665,  and  L'EgalitS  des  Hommes  et  des  Femmes,  by  Marie  le 
Jars  de  Gournay,  Paris,  1622.  The  last  named  work  was  by  the  cefc 
brated  fille  d' alliance — adopted  daughter — of  Montaigne.  It  is  to  her 
that  we  owe  the  textus  receptus  of  the  Essais  of  the  illustrious  lit 
terateur. 


WOMAN'S   LONG    STRUGGLE  6S 

suicide.  These  facts  are  commended  to  the  consideration 
of  our  modern  opponents  of  the  higher  education  of  women 
and  to  those  militant  conservatives  and  old-time  reaction- 
aries who  are  still  averse  to  opening  the  doors  of  some  of 
our  older  universities  to  women — even  such  universities  as 
Oxford,  several  of  whose  colleges  were  founded  on  the  reve- 
nues derived  from  suppressed  educational  institutions 
which  had  been  built  and  used  for  generations  for  the  sole 
behoof  of  women. 

But  distinguished  as  were  the  women  of  Italy  for  their 
culture  and  scholarship,  they  were  yet  more  distinguished 
as  patrons  of  learning,  as  leaders  and  inspirers  of  the  emi- 
nent men  who  were  the  chief  representatives  of  the  Renais- 
sance. Reference  has  already  been  made  to  the  influence  of 
Vittoria  Colonna  on  Michaelangelo — "who  saw  with  her 
eyes,  acted  by  her  inspiration,  was  lifted  by  her  beyond 
the  stars" — but  this  is  only  one  of  many  similar  instances 
that  might  be  adduced.  Indeed,  to  the  student  of  the  Ital- 
ian Renaissance,  the  most  interesting  feature  of  it  was,  not 
its  women  doctors  and  professors,  but  those  noble  and  ac- 
complished ladies  who  made  the  courts  of  Ferrara,  Mantua, 
Milan  and  Urbino  the  most  noted  intellectual  centers  of 
Europe. 

The  most  beautiful  ornaments  of  the  first  three  courts 
were  Renee,  duchess  of  Ferrara ;  Isabella  d  'Este,  marchion- 
ess of  Mantua,  and  Beatrice  d'Este,  duchess  of  Milan. 
They  were  all  women  of  exceptional  learning  and  culture, 
and  each  was  the  center  of  a  galaxy  of  talent  such  as  is 
rarely  witnessed  in  any  one  place. 

Among  the  men  attracted  to  their  courts  were  the  most 
illustrious  scholars,  artists,  poets  and  musicians  of  the 
Renaissance.  Here  they  found  congenial  homes  and 
breathed  an  atmosphere  made  fragrant  by  the  appreciation 
shown  by  their  charming  hostesses  for  their  power  and 
genius.  Here  they  found  inspiration  and  a  stimulus  that 
spurred  them  on  to  their  greatest  achievements.     In  Fer- 


66  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

rara,  where  it  was  said  that  "  there  were  as  many  poets  as 
there  were  frogs  in  the  country  round  about,"  were  gath- 
ered the  most  gifted  poets  of  the  Renaissance  who  had 
been  attracted  there  to  recite  their  latest  masterpieces. 
Among  them  were  Clement  Marot,  the  first  poet  of  modern 
France,  and  Ariosto,  the  immortal  author  of  Orlando  Furi- 
oso.  There  were  the  great  painters,  Titian  and  Bellini, 
and  the  illustrious  poet,  Torquato  Tasso,  whose  love  sub- 
sequently immortalized  Renee's  youngest  daughter  Leo- 
nora. 

A  similar  artistic  and  intellectual  supremacy  was  held  by 
Isabelle  d'Este.  For  portrait  painters  she  had  Titian  and 
Leonardo  da  Vinci,  while,  as  decorators  of  her  home,  she 
had  Bellini  and  Perugino,  whose  compositions  she  herself 
arranged,  even  in  the  minutest  details.  So  it  was  likewise 
in  the  gay  and  brilliant  court  of  Beatrice  d'Este,  in  Milan, 
— a  place  where  artists  and  scholars  of  all  nationalities 
were  always  sure  of  a  cordial  welcome. 

But  the  ideal  center  of  intellectual  culture  was  the  court 
of  Urbino,  the  central  figure  of  which  was  the  learned  and 
accomplished  Elizabetta  Gonzaga.  This  picturesque  city  of 
the  eastern  slope  of  the  Apennines  was  then  to  Italy  what 
Athens  had  been  to  Greece  in  the  days  of  Pericles;  and 
Elizabetta  was  to  its  court  what  Aspasia  was  in  her  own 
matchless  salon — the  magnet  which  attracted  all  the  artists 
and  men  of  letters  of  the  age. 

Castiglione,  whose  great  work,  The  Courtier,  was  partly 
written  as  a  memorial  of  the  peerless  woman  who  inspired 
it,  gives  us  a  vivid  picture  of  "the  fair  ladies,  with  their 
quick  intelligence  and  ready  sympathy/ '  discussing  ques- 
tions of  art,  literature,  philosophy  and  Platonism,  with  the 
most  eminent  scholars  and  artists  of  Europe.  But  Cas- 
tiglione confesses  that  he  is  unable  to  give  us  more  than  the 
mere  outline  of  the  picture.  l '  To  paint  the  polished  society 
of  Urbino/ '  as  has  been  well  said,  "we  should  need  colors 
no  palette  contains — transparencies  of  the  Grecian  sky,  the 


WOMAN'S    LONG    STRUGGLE  67 

indigo  of  certain  seas,  the  liquid  azure  of  certain  eyes. 
For  more  than  a  century  the  court  of  Urbino  was  regarded 
as  the  supreme  exemplar.  In  the  seventeenth  century,  the 
Hotel  de  Rambouillet  was  still  striving  to  make  itself  a 
copy  of  it;  unluckily  such  things  as  these  are  not  easily 
copied. ' n 

We  are  not  surprised,  then,  at  being  told  that  "men 
moulded  by  Italian  ladies" — such  ladies  as  graced  the  court 
of  Urbino — "could  be  distinguished  among  a  thousand/ ' 
Still  less  are  we  surprised  to  note  the  immense  difference 
between  the  refined  and  brilliant  discussions  of  The  Cour- 
tier as  compared  with  the  coarse  tales  of  the  Decameron 
and  Heptameron.  And  we  can  understand  the  marvelous 
influence  which  Castiglione 's  matchless  work — inspired  by 
the  beloved  Duchess  Elizabetta — had  upon  the  masters  of 
English  literature — on  Shakespeare,  Ben  Jonson,  Spenser, 
Marlow,  Shelley. 

Cardinal  Bembo,  who  was  one  of  the  most  assiduous  fre- 
quenters of  this  famous  court,  in  writing  of  Elizabetta,  does 
not  hesitate  to  declare :  "I  have  seen  many  excellent  and 
noble  women,  and  have  heard  of  some  who  were  as  illus- 
trious for  certain  qualities,  but  in  her  alone  among  women, 
all  virtues  were  united  and  brought  together.  I  have  never 
seen  nor  heard  of  any  one  who  was  her  equal,  and  know 
very  few  who  have  even  come  near  her." 

It  was  Castiglione 's  experience  at  the  court  of  Urbino, 
where  he  was  a  daily  witness  of  the  irresistible  influence  of 
Elizabetta,  that  made  him  give  expression  to  the  sentiment, 
"Man  has  for  his  portion  physical  strength  and  external 
activities;  all  doing  must  be  his,  all  inspiration  must  come 
from  woman."  It  was  also  this  keen  student  of  the  mys- 
terious workings  of  woman's  genius  and  of  her  secret,  all- 
pervading  influence,  at  times  and  in  places  least  suspected, 
who  penned  the  notable  statement — worthy  of  the  Renais- 

*The  Women  of  the  Renaissance,  p.  290,  by  E.   de  Maulde  la 
Claviere,  New  York,  1901. 


68  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

sance — "  Without  women  nothing  is  possible,  either  in 
military  courage,  or  art,  or  poetry,  or  music,  or  philosophy, 
or  even  religion.    God  is  truly  seen  only  through  them. ' ' 

Only  a  few  words  are  necessary  to  tell  of  the  learned 
women  of  the  Renaissance  outside  of  Italy.  On  account  of 
its  intimate  connection  with  the  Italian  peninsula,  Spain 
was  the  second  country  in  Europe  to  experience  the  effects 
of  the  new  intellectual  movement.  Among  the  educated 
Italians  whom  Isabella,  the  Catholic,  had  attracted  to  her 
court  were  the  brothers  Geraldini,  whom  she  appointed  as 
teachers  of  her  children.  Of  her  daughter,  Juana,  Juan 
Vives,  the  eminent  Spanish  scholar,  says  she  was  able  to 
make  impromptu  speeches  in  Latin,  while  Catherine,  who 
became  the  wife  of  Henry  VIII,  excited  the  admiration  of 
Erasmus  by  the  extent  and  accuracy  of  her  knowledge.  It 
was  from  Salamanca  that  Isabella  summoned  her  own 
teacher  of  Latin,  the  learned  Beatrix  Galindo,1  who  was  a 
professor  of  rhetoric  in  the  university  long  before  Eliza- 
beth of  England  had  studied  the  language  of  Virgil  under 
Ascham. 

Then  there  was  Francisca  de  Lebrixa  who  often  filled 
the  chair  of  her  father,  who  was  professor  of  history  and 
rhetoric  in  the  University  of  Alcala,  and  Isabella  Losa,  of 
Cordova,  who,  among  her  other  acquirements,  counted  a 
knowledge  of  Greek  and  Hebrew.  To  his  learned  daugh- 
ters, Gregoria  and  Luisa,  Antonio  Perez,  minister  of  Philip 
II,  wrote  saying :  ' '  Do  not  imagine,  when  you  are  writing 
to  me,  that  you  are  addressing  Cicero  or  some  Greek  au- 
thor; lower  your  style  to  my  level."  There  were  also  Isa- 
bella de  Joya,  who  commented  on  Scotus  Erigena;  Cath- 
erine Ribera,  the  bard  of  love  and  faith;  Dona  Maria 
Pacheco  de  Mendoza;  Bernarda  Ferreyra,  to  whom,  on 
account  of  her  rare  scholarship,  Lopez  de  Vega  dedicated 
his  beautiful  elegy  Phillis;  Juana  Morella,  who,  besides 

1  Called  La  Latina,  because   of  her  thorough  knowledge  of  the 
Latin  language. 


WOMAN'S    LONG    STRUGGLE  69 

having  a  profound  knowledge  of  music,  philosophy,  divin- 
ity and  jurisprudence,  was  the  mistress  of  fourteen  lan- 
guages; Juana  de  la  Cruz,  the  famous  Mexican  nun  whose 
poetry  of  superior  merit,  as  well  as  her  exceptional  attain- 
ments in  many  branches  of  knowledge,  won  for  her  the 
epithet  of  the  " Tenth  Muse";  Luisa  Sigea,  who  besides 
being  a  poet  was  a  mistress  of  the  classical  and  several 
oriental  languages,  including  Hebrew  and  Syro-Chaldaic, 
and  other  learned  women  whom  "no  one  was  astonished  to 
see  taking  by  main  force  the  first  rank  in  the  spheres  of 
literature,  philosophy  and  theology." 

So  profoundly  had  the  Renaissance  affected  the  women 
of  a  limited  circle  in  England,  that  Erasmus  could  declare 
without  exaggeration:  "It  is  charming  to  see  the  female 
sex  demand  classical  instruction.  The  queen  is  remarkably 
learned  and  her  daughter  writes  good  Latin.  The  home 
of  More  is  truly  the  abode  of  the  Muses. ' ' 

The  queen  of  whom  Erasmus  speaks  is  Catherine  of  Ara- 
gon,  who  was  educated  in  Spain,  who  was  a  pupil  of  Vives, 
and  who,  besides  having  a  thorough  knowledge  of  Latin 
and  Greek,  was  well  acquainted  with  several  modern  lan- 
guages. The  daughters  of  Sir  Thomas  More  were  among 
the  most  learned  women  of  their  time  and  were,  indeed, 
worthy  of  dwelling  in  ' '  the  home  of  the  Muses. ' ' 

Lady  Jane  Grey  read  Plato  in  the  original  at  the  age  of 
thirteen.1  Anne,  Margaret  and  Jane  Seymour  were  like- 
wise celebrated  for  their  knowledge  of  the  classics,  as  were 
Anne  Boleyn  and  Mary  Stuart,  who  both  Teceived  their 
education  in  France,  and  especially  Queen  Elizabeth,  who 

i  The  famous  Hellenist,  Boger  Ascham,  tells  of  his  astonishment 
on  finding  Lady  Jane  Grey,  when  she  was  only  fourteen  years  of  age, 
reading  Plato's  Phaedo  in  Greek,  when  all  the  other  members  of 
the  family  were  amusing  themselves  in  the  park.  On  his  inquiry  why 
she  did  not  join  the  others  in  their  pastime,  she  smilingly  replied: 
"I  wit  all  their  sport  in  the  park  is  but  a  shadow  to  that  pleasure 
I  find  in  Plato.  Alas,  good  folk,  they  never  knew  what  true  pleasure 
meant. ' ' 


70  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

was  not  only  one  of  the  most  learned  women  of  her  time  but 
was  probably  also  the  most  learned  queen  England  has  ever 
produced.  There  were,  however,  no  university  professors 
or  poets  of  eminence  among  the  English  women,  as  there 
were  in  Italy  and  Spain,  and  their  creative  work  was  prac- 
tically nothing. 

Since  the  time  of  Hroswitha,  Gertrude,  the  Matildas  and 
Hildegard,  the  learned  woman  has  never  been  the  ideal 
woman  in  Germany.  When  Olympia  Morati  was  on  her 
way  from  Ferrara  to  Heidelberg  to  take  the  chair  of  Greek, 
she  found  the  daughters  of  professors  and  humanists  de- 
voting themselves  to  sewing  and  embroidery  instead  of  art 
and  literature.  Anna,  the  eldest  daughter  of  Melanchthon, 
was  almost  alone  among  the  German  women  of  the  Renais- 
sance who  had  a  knowledge  of  Latin. 

In  France  the  most  learned  woman  of  her  time  was  un- 
doubtedly Margaret  of  Angouleme,  queen  of  Navarre.  So 
great  was  her  knowledge  and  so  enthusiastic  was  she  in 
promoting  the  study  of  the  Latin  and  Greek  classics  that 
Michelet,  with  something  of  exaggeration,  perhaps,  calls 
her  ''the  amiable  mother  of  the  Renaissance  in  France/ ' 1 
She  was  noted  for  her  devotion  to  the  study  of  Scripture 
and  theology  as  well  as  Greek  and  Hebrew.  She  always 
had  around  her,  or  was  in  correspondence  with,  the  most 
distinguished  scholars,  poets,  artists,  philosophers  and  the- 
ologians of  the  age,  and  undoubtedly  did  much,  as  a  patron- 
ess of  men  of  letters,  toward  furthering  the  literary  move- 
ment in  France.  She  is,  however,  chiefly  known  to  modern 
readers  by  her  Heptameron — a  work  which  reveals  too 
clearly  the  tastes  of  her  associates  and  the  manners  and  cus- 
toms of  the  time. 

i  To  the  poet  Ronsard,  she  was  a  woman  beyond  compare,  as  is 
evinced  by  the  following  lines  of  a  pastoral  ode  addressed  to  her: 

"La  Eoyne  Marguerite, 
La  plus  belle  fleur  d 'elite 
Qu'onques  la  terre  enfanta." 


WOMAN'S   LONG    STRUGGLE  71 

With  the  exception  of  Margaret  of  Navarre,  there  were 
but  few  literary  women  of  more  than  ephemeral  reputa- 
tion during  the  French  Renaissance.  Among  these  Louise 
Labe  deserves  mention,  as  she  was  the  most  distinguished 
poetess  in  France  during  the  sixteenth  century.1  She,  like 
Margaret,  was  the  center  of  a  coterie  of  men  of  letters ;  but 
the  reunions  over  which  she  presided,  as  well  as  those  of 
the  author  of  the  Heptameron,  were  entirely  lacking  in  the 
dignity  and  refinement  of  those  of  the  polished  court  of 
Urbino  in  the  days  of  the  peerless  Elizabetta  Gonzaga. 

From  what  has  been  said  respecting  the  rare  learning  of 
the  women  of  the  Renaissance,  one  might  infer  that  women 
in  general  enjoyed  special  educational  facilities  during  this 
period  of  intellectual  activity.  Paradoxical  as  it  may  seem, 
the  very  contrary  was  the  case.  For,  as  history  tells  us, 
the  education  of  the  Renaissance  was  essentially  aristo- 
cratic. It  was  only  for  the  women  of  the  nobility  and  for 
the  wives  and  daughters  of  scholars,  while  the  great  ma- 
jority of  the  sex  remained  in  a  state  of  complete  illiteracy. 

The  environment  of  the  daughters  of  scholars  was  pe- 
culiarly favorable  to  their  intellectual  development,  and 
learning  was  in  a  certain  measure  their  natural  heritage. 
They  did  not  receive  their  education  in  schools,  for  there 
were  then  few  or  no  schools  for  girls,  but  from  their  fathers 
or  from  the  men  of  letters  who  frequented  their  homes.  A 
typical  home  of  this  kind  was  that  of  the  noted  savant, 
Robert  Estienne  of  Paris,  printer  to  Francis  I.  Here  the 
language  of  conversation  was  Latin,  not  only  for  the  mem- 
bers of  the  family  but  also  for  the  servants  as  well.2  Under 

i  Cf .  CEuvres  de  Lovize  Lab6,  nouvelle  edition  emprimee  en  carac- 
teres  dits  de  civilite,  Paris,  1871. 

2  The  French  poet,  Jean  Dorat,  who  was  then  professor  of  Latin 
in  the  College  de  France,  expresses  this  fact  in  the  following  strophe: 
"Nempe  uxor,  ancillae,  clientes,  liberi, 
Non  segnis  examen  domus, 
Quo  Plautus  ore,  quo  Terentius,  solent 
Quotidiane  loqui." 


72  WOMAN   IN    SCIENCE 

such  conditions  we  are  not  surprised  to  be  informed  that 
the  girls,  as  well  as  the  boys,  learned  to  speak  Latin  as  well 
as  their  mother  tongue.  And  listening,  as  they  did,  to  the 
daily  discussions  on  art  and  literature  by  the  most  learned 
men  of  a  most  learned  age,  it  was  inevitable  that  they 
should  acquire  those  vast  stores  of  knowledge  on  all  sub- 
jects that  so  excite  the  astonishment  of  our  less  studious 
women  of  to-day. 

With  the  daughters  of  the  nobility  it  was  the  same.  In 
their  youth  they  had,  under  the  paternal  roof,  the  benefit 
of  the  instruction  of  the  most  eminent  masters  of  the  time. 
And  as  they  grew  up  their  constant  intercourse  with 
learned  men  and  the  part  they  took  in  all  literary  and 
social  assemblies,  which  were  so  prominent  a  feature  of  the 
period,  enabled  them  to  complete  their  education  under  the 
most  favorable  auspices,  and  to  have,  before  they  were  out 
of  their  teens,  a  fund  of  information  on  all  subjects  that 
could  not  be  obtained  so  well,  even  in  the  best  of  our  mod- 
ern institutions  of  learning. 

It  was  to  these  daughters  of  the  elite — ingenuce  puellce — 
that  Erasmus  and  Vives  addressed  their  treatises  on  educa- 
tion. They  were  the  privileged  class  at  whose  disposition 
were  placed  all  the  treasures  of  Greek  and  Latin  letters. 
It  was,  then,  an  easy  matter  for  them  to  write  poetry  and 
dissertations  in  the  languages  of  Horace  and  Plato.  And 
it  was  often  a  necessity  for  them  to  speak  Latin,  for  it  was 
then  the  universal  language  of  the  learned — the  language 
that  was  understood  everywhere — in  England  as  in  Italy, 
in  Germany  as  in  France,  in  Flanders  as  well  as  in  Spain 
and  Portugal. 

It  was  then  that  The  Republic  of  Letters  was  a  reality  as 
never  before;  that  the  man  of  letters  was,  of  a  truth,  "a 
citizen  of  the  world";  that  his  country  was  wherever  the 
cult  of  letters  had  priests  or  devotees.  He  was  what  the 
ballad  singer  was  during  the  Middle  Ages,  but  with  more 
dignity  and  seriousness.    He  was  the  agent  and  represen- 


WOMAN'S   LONG    STRUGGLE  73 

tative  of  intellectual  life,  the  living  symbol  of  the  unity 
and  solidarity  of  the  human  mind.  And  as  in  time  he 
linked  the  past  to  the  present  so  likewise  in  space  he  bound 
all  peoples  together  and  belonged  equally  to  all.  Such  was 
Erasmus  of  Holland,  who  was  equally  at  home  in  France 
and  Switzerland,  in  Italy  and  England — everywhere  re- 
ceived with  the  honor  accorded  to  princes  of  the  blood 
royal.  Such  was  Vives,  of  Spain,  the  teacher  of  Catherine 
of  Aragon,  of  Mary,  the  daughter  of  Henry  VIII — at  one 
time  professor  in  Louvain,  at  another  in  Oxford — always 
and  everywhere  an  ardent  exponent  of  humanism  for 
women  as  well  as  for  men.  Such  was  Politian  and  such 
were  scores  of  his  contemporaries,  who  carried  the  torch  of 
knowledge  from  castle  to  castle  and  from  court  to  court, 
where  maidens  equally  with  youths  enjoyed  all  the  advan- 
tages derivable  from  the  lessons  of  such  distinguished 
teachers  and  such  eminent  leaders  of  culture. 

For  it  was  a  peculiarity  of  the  scholar  of  the  Renais- 
sance that  he  was  a  great  traveler — seeking  knowledge 
wherever  it  was  to  be  found — and  carrying  it  with  him 
whithersoever  he  went.  He  journeyed  from  university  to 
university,  everywhere  exchanging  views  with  his  intellec- 
tual compeers,  and  everywhere  diffusing  the  knowledge  he 
had  so  laboriously  acquired.  The  consequence  was  a  won- 
derful uniformity  of  education  among  the  higher  classes — 
among  women  as  well  as  among  men — something  that  was 
never  known  before.  Through  the  generally  diffused 
knowledge  of  Latin,  the  common  literary  medium  of  com- 
munication, all  the  nations  of  Europe,  even  those  at  war 
with  one  another,  were  brought  together  in  an  intellectual 
brotherhood  and  in  a  way  which  gave  scholarship  a  power 
and  a  prestige  that  accrued  to  the  benefit  of  women  and 
men  alike. 

But  the  educational  advantages  enjoyed  by  the  women  of 
the  Renaissance  were  not  for  the  bourgeoisie — not  for  the 
daughters  of  peasants,  tradesmen  and  artisans.    They  were 


74  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 


1 


solely,  as  has  been  stated,  for  the  benefit  of  the  children  of 
princes  or  of  scholars — of  those  only  who  could  claim  either 
nobility  of  birth  or  nobility  of  genius.1  Even  the  most 
zealous  of  the  humanists  would  have  been  surprised  iJ 
they  had  been  asked  to  diffuse  a  portion  of  their  light 
among  the  women  of  the  masses.  For  education,  as  they 
viewed  it,  was  something  solely  for  the  elect — for  ladies  oi 
the  court  and  not  for  women  of  a  lower  condition.  So  fai 
as  the  rest  of  womankind  was  concerned,  their  occupatioi 
was  limited,  according  to  a  Breton  saying,  to  looking  aftei 
altar,  hearth,  and  children — "La  femme  se  doit  gardei 
Vautel,  le  feu,  les  enfants." 

It  was  about  this  time,  too,  that  men  began,  especially  ii 
France  and  Germany,  to  revive  the  anti-feminist  crusade 
which  had  so  retarded  the  literary  movement  among  the 
women  of  ancient  Greece  and  Rome.  They  refused  to  hear 
women  and  intellect  spoken  of  together.  The  Germans 
recognized  no  intelligence  in  them  apart  from  domestic 
duties,  and  seemed  to  belong  to  that  strange  race,  that  hi 
not  yet  died  out,  which  believes  woman  to  be  '  *  afflicted  with 
the  radical  incapacity  to  acquire  an  individual  idea/ 
"What  the  Italians  called  intelligence  a  German  woulc 
call  tittle-tattle,  trickery,  the  spirit  of  opposition.  They 
rejected  such  gratifications  and  had  no  intention  of  allow- 
ing Delilah  to  shear  them."^ 

iA  prominent  writer  of  the  time,  Jean  Bouchet,  expressed  the 
prevailing  opinion  regarding  the  education  of  the  women  of  the 
masses  in  the  following  quaint  sentence:  "Je  suis  bien  d 'opinion 
que  les  femmes  de  bas  estat,  et  qui  sont  contrainctes  vaquer  aux 
choses  familieres  et  domestiques,  ne  doivent  vaquer  aux  lettres, 
parce  que  c'est  chose  repugnante  a  rusticite;  mais,  les  roynes,  prin- 
cesses et  aultres  dames  qui  ne  se  doibvent  pour  reverence  de  leur 
estat,  appliquer  a  mesnage."  Cf.  Rousellot's  Histoire  ds  I'Educa- 
tion  des  Femmes  en  France,  Tom.  I,  p.  109,  Paris,  1883. 

His  ideal  of  a  woman  of  the  peasant  type  was  apparently  Joan 
of  Arc,  who,  according  to  her  own  declaration,  did  not  know  a 
from  b — "elle  declarait  ne  savoir  ni  a  ni  b." 

zQaviere,  op.  cit.,  p.  415. 


WOMAN'S    LONG    STRUGGLE  75 

In  the  estimation  of  Luther,  the  intellectual  aspirations 
of  women  were  not  only  an  absurdity,  but  were  also  a 
positive  peril.  "Take  them,,,  he  says,  "from  their  house- 
wifery and  they  are  good  for  nothing."  He  treated  the 
humanist  Vives,  preceptor  of  Mary  Tudor,  as  "  a  dangerous 
spirit, ' '  because  the  learned  Spaniard  was  an  ardent  advo- 
cate of  the  higher  education  of  women.  As  to  abstract  and 
severe  studies  they  were  for  girls,  according  to  one  of  Luth- 
er's contemporaries,  but  "vain  and  futile  quackeries." 
For  an  accomplished  woman  to  quote  the  Fathers  or  the 
ancient  classical  writers  was  to  provoke  ridicule,  because  to 
do  so  was  considered  an  indication  of  pedantry  or  affecta- 
tion. Montaigne  gave  expression  to  the  age-old  prejudice 
against  woman  by  refusing  to  regard  her  as  anything  but  a 
pretty  animal,  while  Eabelais,  the  coryphaeus  of  the  French 
Renaissance,  declared  that ' '  Nature  in  creating  woman  lost 
the  good  sense  which  she  had  displayed  in  the  creation  of 
all  other  things." 

Such  being  the  views  of  the  great  leaders  of  thought  and 
formers  of  public  opinion  respecting  the  mental  inferiority 
of  woman — views  which,  outside  of  Italy,  had,  with  few 
exceptions,  the  cordial  approval  of  the  supercilious,  cocka- 
hoop  male — is  it  necessary  to  add  that  the  Renaissance  did 
nothing  for  popular  education  ?  The  masses  of  women,  es- 
pecially after  the  suppression  of  the  convent  schools  in 
England  and  Germany,  were,  in  many  parts  of  Europe, 
and  notably  in  the  two  countries  mentioned,  in  a  worse 
condition  than  they  were  during  the  Dark  Ages.1 

i  The  noted  English  divine,  Thomas  Fuller,  chaplain  to  Charles  II, 
recognized  the  irreparable  loss  to  women  occasioned  by  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  nunneries  by  the  Eef  ormers.  ' '  There  were, ' '  he  tells  us  in 
his  quaint  language,  "good  she  schools  wherein  the  girls  and  maids 

of  the  neyghborhood  were  taught  to  read  and  work Yea,  give 

me  leave  to  say,  if  such  feminine  foundations  had  still  continued, 
haply  the  weaker  sex,  besides  the  avoiding  modern  inconveni- 
ences, might  be  heyghtened  to  a  higher  perfection  than  hitherto  hath 
been  attained."    Church  History,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  336,  1845. 


76  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

WOMAN  AND  EDUCATION  BETWEEN  THE  RENAISSANCE  AND  THE 
TWENTIETH   CENTURY 

The  period  following  the  Renaissance  was  not  a  brilliant 
one  for  woman,  especially  outside  of  Italy.  For  in  this  fa- 
vored land,  even  after  the  decadence  in  literature  that  fol- 
lowed the  glorious  cinquecento,  intellectual  life  opposed  so 
effective  a  barrier  to  the  forces  of  extinction  which  were  at 
work  in  other  parts  of  Europe,  notably  Germany  and  Eng- 
land, that  there  were  still  in  every  part  of  the  peninsula 
from  the  fertile  plains  of  Lombardy  to  the  sunny  Ionian 
sea,  learned  and  cultured  women  who  were  eager  to  emu- 
late the  achievements  of  their  illustrious  sisters  of  Italy's 
golden  age  of  art,  and  letters.  We  do  not,  it  is  true,  find 
among  them  a  Properzia  de  Rossi,  a  Veronica  Gambara,  or 
a  Vittoria  Colonna ;  but  we  find  many  earnest  and  enthusi- 
astic students  in  every  department  of  knowledge. 

That  which  most  impresses  the  student  of  education  dur- 
ing this  period  of  Italian  history  is  not  the  splendor  of  art 
and  letters  in  court  and  castle,  which  so  dazzled  Europe 
during  the  time  of  Renee  of  Ferrara  and  Elizabetta  Gon- 
zaga  of  Urbino.  We  find,  it  is  true,  a  goodly  number  of 
women  who  won  distinction  as  poets  and  artists;  but  it  is 
rather  those  who  were  devoted  to  more  serious  studies  that 
arrest  our  attention — women  who  attained  eminence  in 
physical  and  natural  science,  in  mathematics,  in  the  class- 
ical and  oriental  languages,  in  philosophy,  law  and  theol- 
ogy. Space  precludes  the  mention  of  more  than  a  few  of 
these,  but  these  few  may  be  accepted  as  typical  of  many 
others  almost  equally  distinguished. 

•  Chief  among  those  of  whom  their  countrymen  are  special- 
ly proud  are  Rosanna  Somaglia  Landi,  of  Milan,  linguist 
and  translator  of  Anacreon ;  Maria  Selvaggia  Borghini,  of 
Pisa,  translator  of  the  works  of  Tertullian ;  Eleonora  Bar- 
bapiccola,  of  Salerno,  who  translated  into  Italian  the  Prin- 
cipa  Philosophic  of  Descartes;  Maria  Angela  Arginghelli, 


WOMAN'S   LONG    STRUGGLE  77 

of  Naples,  who  was  famed  for  her  profound  knowledge  of 
physics  and  the  higher  mathematics  and  who  gave  an  Ital- 
ian version  of  Stephen  Hales'  Vegetable  Statics.  Then 
there  was  Clelia  Grillo  Borromeo,  of  Genoa,  who  was  so 
distinguished  in  science,  mathematics,  mechanics  and  lan- 
guages that  a  medal  was  struck  in  her  honor  bearing  the 
inscription,  Gloria  Genuensium — glory  of  the  Genoese ;  and 
the  still  more  famous  Elena  Cornaro  Piscopia,  of  Venice, 
who  was  truly  a  prodigy  of  learning  as  well  as  a  paragon 
of  virtue.  In  addition  to  a  knowledge  of  many  modern, 
classical  and  oriental  tongues,  she  exhibited  remarkable 
proficiency  in  astronomy,  mathematics,  music,  philosophy 
and  theology.  After  a  course  of  study  in  the  University  of 
Padua  and  after  the  usual  examination  and  discourse  in 
classic  Latin  on  some  of  the  questions  of  Aristotelian  phi- 
losophy, she  had  the  doctorate  of  philosophy  conferred  on 
her  in  the  cathedral  of  Padua,  in  the  presence  of  thousands 
of  learned  men  and  applauding  students  from  all  parts  of 
Europe.  But  not  content  with  conferring  on  this  extraor- 
dinary woman  the  ring,  wreath  of  laurel  and  the  ermine 
mozetta — the  usual  insignia  of  the  doctorate — the  Univer- 
sity, as  a  special  mark  of  distinction,  had  a  medal  coined  in 
honor  of  the  illustrious  graduate  bearing  her  effigy,  witl* 
the  words,  as  the  decree  of  the  University  expressed  it, 
ad  perpetuam  rei  memoriam.  That  there  was  nothing 
superficial  about  this  young  woman's  knowledge  of  lan- 
guages, it  suffices  to  state  that  she  was  able  to  speak  Latin 
and  Greek  as  fluently  as  her  own  Italian,  and  that  so  pro- 
found was  her  knowledge  of  divinity  that  there  were  many 
distinguished  ecclesiastics  in  both  Italy  and  France  who 
favored  conferring  on  her  the  doctorate  in  theology. 

Among  other  young  women  who  obtained  the  doctorate 
in  various  universities  were  Maddalena  Canedi-Noe  and 
Maria  Vittoria  Dosi  who,  after  the  usual  course  of  study 
in  the  university  of  Bologna,  obtained  the  degree  of  doctor 
of  civil  law,  and  Maria  Pellegrina  Amoretti,  who  received 


78  jWOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

the  degree  of  doctor  in  both  canon  and  civil  law  in  the 
University  of  Pavia  and  with  it  the  doctor's  cap — bcrreto 
dottorale.  But  more  remarkable  for  learning  than  any  of 
these  university  graduates  was  Maria  Gaetana  Agnesi,  one 
of  the  most  extraordinary  women  scholars  of  all  time.  On 
account  of  her  wonderful  knowledge  of  languages  she  was 
called  "The  Oracle  of  Seven  Tongues."  This,  however,  is 
not  her  chief  title  to  fame.  It  is  rather  her  marvelous 
achievements  in  the  domain  of  the  higher  mathematics. 
After  the  appearance  of  her  most  noted  work,  Instituzioni 
Analytiche,  she  would  at  once  have  been  elected  a  member 
of  the  French  Academy  of  Sciences  had  not  the  laws  of  this 
learned  body  precluded  the  admission  of  women.1  That 
great  Maecenas  of  learning,  Benedict  XIV,  showed  his  ap- 
preciation of  Maria  Gaetana 's  exceptional  attainments  by 
appointing  her — motu  proprio — to  the  chair  of  higher 
mathematics  in  the  University  of  Bologna.  A  similar  hon- 
or had,  in  the  preceding  century,  been  conferred  on  Marta 
Marchina,  of  Naples,  when,  on  account  of  her  rare  knowl- 
edge of  letters,  philosophy  and  theology,  she  was  offered  a 
chair  in  the  Sapienza,  in  Rome,  an  honor  which  her  modesty 
and  love  of  retirement  caused  her  to  decline. 

We  have  seen  that  women  professors  achieved  distinction 
in  the  Italian  universities  even  as  early  as  the  closing  cen- 
turies of  the  Middle  Ages.  The  same  was  true  during  the 
Renaissance,  and  it  has  been  equally  true  during  the  period 
that  has  elapsed  since  the  cinquecento. 

Among  the  most  eminent  of  those  who  taught  in  the  uni- 
versities were  Laura  Bassi,  who  had  the  chair  of  physics 
in  the  University  of  Bologna,  and  Clotilde  Tambroni,  pro- 
fessor of  the  Greek  language  and  literature  in  the  same 
institution  of  learning.  So  thorough  was  her  knowledge 
of  the  language  of  Plato  that  it  was  the  opinion  of  her  con- 
temporaries that  there  were  then  only  three  persons  in 

iM.    Thureau   Dangin,    the   perpetual    secretary   of    the    French 
Academy,  wrote,  ' '  La  tradition  ne  veut  pas  d  'academiciennes. ' ' 


WOMAN'S   LONG    STRUGGLE  79 

Europe  who  equaled  her  in  her  mastery  of  this  classic 
tongue.  It  was  this  distinguished  Hellenist  who  graciously 
delivered  the  address  when  one  of  her  countrywomen, 
Maria  dalle  Donne,  received  her  doctorate  in  medicine  and 
surgery.  After  her  graduation  Dr.  dalle  Donne  was  given 
charge  of  a  school  for  midwives  in  which  she  rendered  the 
greatest  service  to  her  sex.  Even  the  chair  of  anatomy  in 
the  University  of  Bologna  was  held  by  a  woman,  Anna 
Morandi-Menzolini,  and  her  work  was  of  the  highest  order. 
The  same  position  was  held  by  another  woman,  Maria  Pet- 
raccini-Terretti,  in  the  University  of  Ferrara. 

What  a  contrast  between  the  attitude  of  the  universities 
of  Italy  and  those  of  other  parts  of  the  world  toward 
women  as  students  and  professors!  For  a  thousand  years 
the  doors  of  the  Italian  universities  have  been  open  to 
women,  as  well  as  to  men ;  and  for  a  thousand  years  women, 
as  well  as  men,  have  received  their  degrees  from  these  noble 
and  liberal  institutions,  and  occupied  the  most  important 
positions  in  their  gift,  and  that,  too,  with  the  approval  and 
encouragement  of  both  spiritual  and  temporal  rulers.  For 
these  wise  and  broad-minded  men  did  not  regard  it  un- 
womanly for  Laura  Bassi  to  teach  physics,  for  Clotilde 
Tambroni  to  teach  Greek,  for  Dorotea  Bucca  to  teach  med- 
icine, for  Maria  Gaetana  to  teach  differential  and  integral 
calculus,  for  Anna  Morandi  to  teach  anatomy,  for  Novella 
d 'Andrea  to  teach  canon  law,  or  even,  if  we  may  believe 
Denifle,  one  of  the  best  of  authorities,  for  the  daughters  of 
a  Paris  professor  to  teach  theology.1  Yes,  what  a  contrast, 
indeed,  between  the  Universities  of  Bologna  and  Padua, 
with  their  long  and  honored  list  of  women  graduates  and 

iCarlyle,  in  a  lecture  on  Dante,  and  the  Divina  Commedia,  de- 
clares that  li  Italy  has  produced  a  greater  number  of  great  men  than 
any  other  nation,  men  distinguished  in  art,  thinking,  conduct,  and 
everywhere  in  the  departments  of  intellect."  He  could  with  equal 
truth  have  said  that  Italy  has  produced  more  great  women  than  any 
other  nation. 


80  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

professors,  and  the  Universities  of  Cambridge  and  Oxford 
from  which  women  have  always  been  and  are  still  excluded, 
both  as  students  and  professors. 

Contrast,  also,  the  honors  shown  to  women  as  students 
and  professors  of  medicine  in  Salerno,  in  the  thirteenth 
century,  with  the  riots  excited  among  the  chivalrous  male 
students  of  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  when,  less  than  a 
half  century  ago,  seven  young  women  applied  for  the  privi- 
lege of  attending  the  courses  of  lectures  on  medicine  and 
surgery  in  that  institution.  And  contrast  the  sympathy 
and  encouragement  of  Italy  with  the  almost  brutal  opposi- 
tion which  women  in  our  own  country  encountered  when, 
but  a  few  decades  ago,  they  applied  for  admittance  to  the 
medical  schools  of  New  York  and  Philadelphia.  The  dif- 
ference between  the  Italian  and  the  Anglo-Saxon  attitude 
toward  women  in  the  all-important  matters  in  question  re- 
quires no  comment.1 

One  reason  for  the  great  difference  between  the  women 
of  Italy  and  those  of  other  parts  of  Europe  in  the  matter 
of  higher  education  during  the  period  we  have  been  consid- 
ering was  the  old  Eoman  spirit  of  independence  of  the 
former  and  their  always  insisting  on  what  they  regarded 
as  their  natural  and  indefeasible  rights.  Following  the 
example  of  the  matrons  of  ancient  Rome,  they  insisted  on 
being  treated  as  the  equals  of  men,  and,  as  a  consequence, 
they  demanded  in  the  intellectual  order  all  the  advantages 
that  were  accorded  to  men.  They  would  never  admit  their 
mental  inferiority  to  man,  and  woe  betide  the  luckless 
wight  who  even  insinuated  such  inferiority.  The  shafts 
of  satire  and  ridicule  were  at  once  directed  against  him  by 
a  score  of  women  who  were  able  to  use  the  pen  as  well  as, 
if  not  better  than,  himself.  Sometimes,  however,  such  an 
one  was  taken  seriously,  and  then  the  result  was  a  book  by 

''■Medical  Women,  p.  63,  et  seq.,  by  Sophia  Jex-Blake,  Edin- 
burgh, 1886,  and  Pioneer  WorTc  in  Opening  the  Medical  Profession 
to  Women,  Chap.  Ill,  by  Elizabeth  Blackwell,  London,  1895. 


WOMAN'S    LONG    STRUGGLE  81 

some  clever  woman  to  prove  that  there  was  no  difference  in 
the  intellectual  power  of  the  two  sexes — that,  if  there  was 
a  difference,  it  was  in  favor  of  the  gentler  sex.  There  is 
quite  a  large  number  of  such  works  in  Italian ;  and  it  must 
be  said  that  the  women  always  met  the  arguments  of  their 
adversaries  in  a  manner  that  does  them  the  greatest  credit. 

It  was  probably  because  of  their  insistence  on  the  equal- 
ity of  the  sexes,  as  well  as  because  of  their  achievements  in 
every  department  of  mental  activity,  that  the  educated 
women  of  Italy  enjoyed  so  many  privileges  denied  their 
sisters  in  other  parts  of  Europe.  Thus,  in  addition  to 
being  treated  as  the  equals  of  men  in  the  universities,  they 
met  them  on  an  equal  footing  in  the  art,  literary  and  scien- 
tific societies  and  academies,  in  the  proceedings  of  which 
they  always  exhibited  an  active  and  enthusiastic  interest. 
In  these  reunions  the  women  gained  strength  of  mind  and 
independence  of  character  from  the  men,  while  the  men 
imbibed  refinement  and  gentleness  from  the  women.  Com- 
pare this  condition  with  the  systematic  exclusion  of  women 
from  similar  societies  in  other  countries — even  in  this  twen- 
tieth century  of  ours — and  one  of  the  not  least  potent  rea- 
sons for  the  intellectual  supremacy  of  the  women  of  Italy 
will  be  apparent. 

Next  after  Italy,  France  was  the  country  in  which,  dur- 
ing the  post-Renaissance  period,  women  enjoyed  the  great- 
est advantages  of  mental  development.  But  we  look  in 
vain,  even  during  the  age  of  Louis  XIV,  for  that  flowering 
of  the  female  intellect  that,  at  the  same  period,  rendered 
the  daughters  of  Italy  so  famous.  It  is  true  that  there  was 
a  certain  number  of  learned  women  in  France  during  the 
seventeenth  century,  and  notably  during  the  golden  age  of 
Louis  XIV,  for  during  this  period  the  traditions  of  the 
Renaissance  were  perpetuated  and  there  was  still  a  lin- 
gering love  of  letters,  at  least  among  certain  classes  of  the 
aristocracy. 

Prominent  among  those  who  attracted  attention  for  their 


88  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

learning  were  Gilberte  and  Jaqueline  Pascal,  of  the  cele- 
brated convent  of  Port  Boyal;  Marie-Eleonore  de  Rohan 
and  Gabrielle  de  Rochechouart,  both,  like  the  Pascal  sisters, 
inmates  of  the  cloister;  Marie  Cramoisy,  wife  of  the  first 
director  of  the  royal  printing  office,  and  Mile,  de  Luynes, 
a  friend  of  Pascal.  All  these  counted  among  their  attain- 
ments a  writing  knowledge  of  Latin,  but  were  far  from 
being  able,  like  the  Italian  women  above  mentioned,  to 
speak  it  with  the  same  fluency  as  they  did  their  mother 
tongue. 

In  addition  to  the  learned  French  women  just  named, 
there  was  Elisabeth  de  Rochechouart,  a  niece  of  Mme.  de 
Montespan,  who  was  able  to  read  Plato  in  Greek,  and  Anne 
de  Rohan,  Princess  of  Guemene,  who  surprised  her  country- 
men by  studying  Hebrew.  Then  there  were  Mme.  de  Grig- 
nan,  Marie  Dupre,  Louise  Serment,  Anne  de  La  Vigne, 
who,  like  the  Princess  Palatine,  Elisabeth,  and  Christine 
of  Sweden,  were  ardent  disciples  of  Descartes,  and  took 
the  lead  among  the  femmes  philosophes  of  their  time. 

But  for  profound  and  varied  scholarship  Mme.  Dacier, 
the  daughter  of  the  erudite  Tanquil  Le  Fevre,  was  the 
most  famous  of  all  the  women  of  her  time  in  France.  Pos- 
sessed of  rare  power  of  eloquence  and  beauty  of  style,  to- 
gether with  an  extraordinary  capacity  for  criticism,  there 
was  not  a  man  in  Europe  who  did  not  respect  her  judgment 
in  matters  of  literature  and  culture.  But  that  for  which 
she  was  specially  celebrated  was  her  exceptional  knowledge 
of  Latin  and  Greek.  She  not  only  translated  the  Iliad  and 
the  Odyssey  but  also  several  other  of  the  ancient  classics. 
None  of  her  contemporaries  had  a  more  thorough  mastery 
of  the  tongues  of  Homer  and  Virgil,  nor  did  any  of  her 
countrymen  contribute  more  than  she  toward  the  advance- 
ment of  the  knowledge  of  the  literature  of  ancient  Greece 
and  Rome.  So  highly  prized  was  her  version  of  the  Iliad 
that  it  was  translated  by  Ozell  into  English.  Her  version 
of  Plato's  Phaedo  was  also  translated  into  English  and 


WOMAN'S    LONG    STRUGGLE  83 

published  by  a  New  York  bookseller  more  than  a  century- 
after  her  death.  The  scholarly  Menagius,  in  his  Historia 
Mulierum  Philosopharum,  did  not  hesitate  to  pronounce 
her  the  most  learned  woman  of  all  time — Feminarum  quot 
sunt,  quot  fuere  doctissima.1 

To  Mme.  de  Maintenon,  the  morganatic  wife  of  the  Great 
Monarch,  is  due  the  Institut  de  Saint-Cyr,  the  first  state 
school  for  girls  founded  in  France.  It  was,  however,  solely 
for  the  daughters  of  the  nobility.  And,  although  it  was 
from  the  first  under  the  direction  of  the  foundress,  a 
woman  who  was  before  all  else  a  teacher  as  well  as  one  of 
the  most  enlightened  women  of  the  most  literary  and  philo- 
sophic age  France  ever  knew — the  age  when  the  French 
language  was  perfected,  the  age  of  the  Academy,  of  Boileau, 
Moliere,  Racine,  Bossuet,  Descartes — the  studies  prescribed 
in  this  institution,  which  was  under  the  special  patronage 
of  the  king,  were  of  the  most  elementary  character.  They 
comprised  reading,  writing,  arithmetic,  grammar,  music, 
drawing,  dancing,  and  the  elements  of  history,  mythology 
and  geography.  As  to  history,  Mme.  de  Maintenon  was 
satisfied  if  the  pupils  of  Saint-Cyr  knew  enough  not  to  con- 
found the  kings  of  France  with  those  of  other  nations,  and 
were  able  to  avoid  mistaking  a  Roman  emperor  for  the 
Emperor  of  China  or  Japan ;  or  the  King  of  Spain  or  Eng- 
land for  the  King  of  Persia  or  Siam.  And  yet,  restricted 
as  it  was,  her  programme  of  studies  was  more  complete 
than  that  of  any  other  girls'  school  in  the  kingdom.  One 
of  her  reasons  for  not  insisting  on  a  more  thorough  course 
was  that  "women  never  know  but  by  halves,  and  the  little 
that  they  do  know  usually  makes  them  proud,  haughty  and 
talkative  and  disgusted  with  solid  things. ' ' 2 

i  Mme.  Dacier  was  a  remarkable  exception  chiefly  because  she  was 
the  daughter  and  pupil  of  one  Hellenist  before  becoming  the  wife 
of  another. 

2  Lettres  et  Entretiens  sur  I  'Education  de  Filles,  Tom.  I,  pp. 
225-231. 

Compare  this  superficial  course  of  study  at  Saint-Cyr  with  the 


84  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

In  Saint-Cyr,  the  best  girls'  school  in  the  kingdom,  there 
was  not  a  word  about  the  first  principles  of  philosophy,  nor 
about  the  physical  and  natural  sciences  recommended  by 
Fenelon.  The  elements  just  referred  to,  combined  with  a 
goodly  amount  of  esprit — bien  de  V esprit — were  considered 
quite  sufficient  to  prepare  the  future  wives  of  the  nobility 
for  all  the  duties  they  would  be  called  upon  to  perform. 

Mme.  de  Maintenon  had  probably  been  unconsciously  in- 
fluenced by  what  she  had  seen  at  the  court  of  her  liege 
lord,  where  the  greater  part  of  the  women  were  extremely 
ignorant.  Even  Mme.  de  Montespan,  the  king's  favorite, 
and  for  years  the  leading  figure  at  the  court,  was  no  excep- 
tion. So  ignorant  was  she  that  she  was  not  even  able  to 
spell  the  simplest  and  most  common  words.1 

elaborate  course  mapped  out  by  Lionardo  d'Arezzo  in  a  letter  ad- 
dressed to  the  illustrious  lady,  Baptista  Malatesta.  In  the  broad 
programme  of  education  for  women  recommended  by  this  eminent 
man  of  letters,  "poet,  orator,  historian,  and  the  rest,  all  must  be 
studied,  each  must  contribute  a  share.  Our  learning  thus  becomes 
full,  ready,  varied,  elegant,  available  for  action  or  for  discourse  on 
all  subjects.'' 

Lionardo 's  curriculum  of  studies  for  women  was  quite  as  com- 
prehensive as  that  required  for  men,  ' '  with  perhaps  a  little  less  stress 
upon  rhetoric  and  more  upon  religion.  There  was  no  assumption  that 
a  lower  standard  of  attainment  is  inevitably  a  consequence  of  smaller 
capacity. '  * 

Nor  was  this  thorough  study  of  letters  by  the  women  of  Italy 
"unfavorably  regarded  by  social  opinion";  neither  did  it  introduce 
1 '  a  new  standard  of  womanly  activity.  Women,  indeed,  at  this  epoch, 
seem  to  have  preserved  their  moral  and  intellectual  balance  under 
the  stress  of  the  new  enthusiasm  better  than  men.  The  learned 
ladies  were,  in  actual  life,  good  wives  and  mothers,  domestic  and 
virtuous  women  of  strong  judgment  and  not  seldom  of  marked 
capacity  in  affairs."  Cf.  Vittorino  da  Feltre  and  Other  Humanist 
Educators,  pp.  122,  132,  197,  by  W.  H.  Woodward,  Cambridge,  1905. 

i  Thus,  in  a  letter  of  hers  to  Mme.  de  Lauzun  occurs  a  sentence 
like  the  following:  "II  lia  sy  lontant  que  je  n'ay  antandu  parler 
de  vous. ' '  The  duchess  of  Monpensier,  daughter  of  Gaston  d  'Orleans, 
in  a  letter  to  her  father  exhibits  a  similar  ignorance  of  her  own  Ian- 


WOMAN'S    LONG    STRUGGLE  85 

And  so  it  was  with  the  most  illustrious  ladies  of  France. 
Many  of  them  were  so  devoid  of  instruction  that  they  were 
unable  either  to  read  or  to  write.  Even  the  teachers  in 
Saint- Cyr  were  so  deficient  in  the  simplest  rudiments  of 
an  education  that  Mme.  de  Maintenon  found  it  necessary 
to  correct  their  letters,  in  order  to  teach  them  the  most 
essential  rules  of  epistolary  correspondence.  In  reality, 
the  women  of  the  age  of  Louis  XIV  did  not  trouble  them- 
selves about  an  education  as  we  understand  it.  Endowed 
with  esprit,  with  a  natural  and  acquired  taste  for  things 
intellectual,  they  were  satisfied  with  such  knowledge  as 
they  could  glean  from  reading  or  conversation,  and  with 
comparatively  few  exceptions,  showed  no  disposition  to  de- 
vote long  years  to  study  in  school,  much  less  in  a  university, 
as  did  their  sisters  to  the  south  of  the  Alps. 

The  foundress  of  Saint-Cyr  had  likewise  been  influenced 
by  her  environment  as  well  as  by  the  court — an  environ- 
ment which  was  becoming  daily  more  and  more  unfavorable 
to  the  education,  especially  anything  approaching  the  high- 
er education,  of  women.  A  young  woman's  education  was 
considered  complete  when  she  was  able  to  read,  write,  dance 
and  play  some  musical  instrument.  Anything  more  was 
deemed  superfluous  and  deserving  of  censure  and  ridicule 
rather  than  praise. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  Moliere's  two  celebrated  plays, 
Les  Femmes  Savantes  and  Les  Precieuses  Ridicules,  were 
given  to  the  world.  These  well-known  productions,  replete 
with  the  author's  brightest  flashes  of  wit,  and  abounding  in 
his  most  effective  shafts  of  satire,  produced  at  once  an  im- 
mense sensation.  As  soon  as  published,  they  were  in  the 
hands  of  everybody.  Those  who  were  opposed  to  the  edu- 
cation of  women — and  the  number  was  daily  increasing — 

guage,  when  she  writes:  "J'ai  cru  que  Votre  Altesse  seret  bien  ese 
de  savoir  sete  istoire."  Quoted  by  Eousselot  in  his  Eistoire  de 
I'Education  des  Femmes  en  France,  Tom.  I,  p.  287. 


1%  lf 

86  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

had  recourse  to  them  as  to  arsenals  which  supplied  them 
with  just  the  arms  they  had  so  long  needed  to  decide  in 
their  favor  the  long  warfare  which  they  had  been  conduct- 
ing against  the  gentler  sex.  The  views  of  the  bourgeois 
Chrysale  as  expressed  to  his  sister,  Belise,  were  so  in  har- 
mony with  their  own  that  they  loved  on  every  occasion  to 
repeat  with  him: 

"No, 
It  isn't  decent,  and  for  many  reasons, 
That  womankind  should  study  and  know  too  much. 
To  teach  her  children  what  is  right  and  wrong, 
Manage  her  household,  oversee  her  servants, 
And  keep  expenses  within  bounds,  should  be 
Her  only  study  and  philosophy. 

Our  fathers,  on  this  point,  showed  great  good  sense; 
They  said  a  woman  always  knows  enough 
If  but  her  understanding  reaches 
To  telling,  one  from  t'other,  coat  and  breeches. 
Their  wives,  who  couldn't  read,  led  honest  lives, 
Their  households  were  their  only  learned  theme, 
And  all  their  books  were  thimble,  thread  and  needles. 
With  which  they  made  their  daughters'  wedding  outfits, 
But  now  our  women  scorn  to  live  like  that; 
They  want  to  write  and  all  be  authoresses. 
They  think  no  knowledge  is  too  deep  for  them."1 

Moliere's  intention  in  writing  these  justly  famous  come- 
dies was  not,  as  is  so  often  asserted,  to  ridicule  women  of 
learning,  but  only  those  superficial  pedants  who  affected 
knowledge  or  loved  to  make  a  display  of  the  little  knowl- 
edge they  happened  to  possess.  The  result,  however,  was 
quite  different  from  what  had  been  intended,  for  the  poet's 
pleasantries  were  taken  so  seriously,  that  even  women  of 
real  learning,  in  order  to  avoid  ridicule,  were  condemned 
to  absolute  silence.  The  comic  dramatist,  Destouches,  ex- 
pressed the  prevailing  opinion  when  he  wrote : 

*Les  Femmes  Savantes,  Act  II,  Scene  7. 


WOMAN'S   LONG    STRUGGLE  87 

"Une  femme  savante 
Doit  cacher  son  savoir,  ou  c'est  une  imprudente."  * 

Few  French  women  thereafter  had  the  courage  to  defend 
their  sex,  as  did  their  sisters  in  Italy,  and  the  result  was 
that,  with  a  few  exceptions,  like  Mme.  du  Chatelet,  Sophie 
Germain,  and  Mme.  Lepaute,  there  were  no  more  learned 
women  in  France  for  fully  two  centuries. 

Never  did  satire  and  ridicule  accomplish  more,  except 
probably  in  the  case  of  Don  Quixote — that  masterly  crea- 
tion of  Cervantes  which  dealt  the  death-blow  to  knight- 
errantry — than  did  Les  Femmes  Savantes  and  Les  Pre- 
cieuses  Ridicules.  The  learned  woman  became  as  much  an 
object  of  derision  in  France  as  was  the  knight-errant  in 
Spain. 

It  was  not,  however,  in  the  nature  of  the  French  woman, 
with  all  her  vivacity  and  energy,  to  be  suppressed  entirely 
or  to  be  relegated  for  long  to  the  background  in  things  of 

i  Destouches,  in  his  L  'Homme  singulier,  makes  one  of  his  female 
characters,  who  loves  study,  speak  in  the  following  pathetic  fashion: 

"A  learned  woman  ought — so  I  surmise — 
Conceal  her  knowledge,  or  she'll  be  unwise. 
If  pedantry  a  mental  blemish  be 
At  all  times  outlawed  by  society, 
If   'gainst  a  pedant  all  the  world  inveighs, 
Shall  pass  unchecked  in  woman  pedant's  waysT 
I  hold  it  sure,  condemned  my  sex  is  quite 
To  trifling  nothings  as  its  sole  birthright; 
Eidiculous  'tis  thought  outside  its  'sphere'; 
The  learned  woman  dare  not  such  appear; 
Nay,  she  must  even  cloak  her  brilliancy 
So  envy  leave  in  peace  stupidity; 
Must  keep  the  level  of  the  common  kind, 
To  subjects  commonplace  devote  her  mind, 
And  treating  these  she  must  be  like  the  rest. 
Lo,  in  such  garb  refinement  must  be  dressed: 
That  knowledge  shall  not  make  her  seem  unwise, 
She  must  herself  in  foolishness  disguise." 

— Act  III,  Scene  7. 


88  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

the  mind.  But,  not  then  daring  to  face  the  ridicule  which 
was  inevitable,  if  she  devoted  herself  to  science  or  philos- 
ophy, she  sought  a  substitute  for  her  intellectual  activity 
in  the  salon. 

The  first  salon  was  established  by  an  Italian  woman,  the 
Marquise  de  Rambouillet,  in  1617,  and  was  modeled  after 
the  famous  reunions  held  at  the  court  of  Urbino  under 
Elizabetta  Gonzaga,  a  century  before.  Although  it  never 
exhibited  the  splendor  of  its  Italian  prototype,  the  Hotel 
de  Rambouillet  was  for  more  than  fifty  years  the  most  im- 
portant literary  center  of  the  kind  in  France.  Here,  owing 
to  the  tact,  esprit,  and  magnetic  personality  of  Mme.  de 
Rambouillet,  were  gathered  the  most  distinguished  men 
and  women  of  the  time.  Among  them  were  poets,  philos- 
ophers, statesmen,  ecclesiastics  and  ladies  of  rank,  whose 
names  still  dazzle  us  by  their  brilliancy.  Bossuet,  Moliere, 
La  Fontaine,  Corneille  and  the  great  Conde  were  there; 
so  were  Flechier,  Balzac,  Voiture,  Saint-Evremont,  Des- 
cartes and  La  Rochefoucauld;  and  so,  too,  were  Mme.  de 
Sevigne,  the  Duchess  of  Montpensier,  Madeleine  de  Scu- 
dery,  La  Comtesse  de  La  Fayette,  Charlotte  de  Montmor- 
ency, and  Cardinal  Richelieu  who  got  from  this  noted  salon 
the  idea  which  led  to  his  greatest  foundation— the  French 
Academy. 

It  was  Mme.  de  Rambouillet  who,  through  her  reunions 
in  her  exquisite  Chambre  Bleue,  for  the  first  time  brought 
together  elements  that  were  previously  considered  as  be- 
longing to  different  castes.  It  was  she,  also,  who  created 
modern  society  with  its  purely  intellectual  hierarchy,  by 
having  the  representatives  of  the  nobility  meet  men  of 
science  and  letters  on  an  equal  footing.  It  seems  to  us 
now  the  most  natural  thing  in  the  world  for  a  great  savant, 
a  great  poet,  or  a  great  philosopher,  to  be  received  in  the 
same  salon  with  the  Duchess  of  Montpensier — La  Grande 
Mademoiselle — but  it  was  far  from  being  so  when  the  bril- 
liant young  Italian  matron — for  she  was  a  daughter  of  the 


WOMAN'S    LONG    STRUGGLE  89 

noble  Roman  family  of  the  Savelli — began  her  epoch- 
making  work  in  the  Hotel  de  Rambouillet,  where,  after 
overcoming  countless  difficulties  and  prejudices,  she  even- 
tually succeeded  in  bringing  together,  and  in  enlisting  in 
a  common  cause,  the  nobility  of  birth  and  the  nobility  of 
intellect,  and  introducing  into  the  exclusive  set  of  Paris 
the  same  kind  of  social  coteries  that  had  so  long  been  popu- 
lar in  Urbino  and  Ferrara. 

The  Hotel  de  Rambouillet  was  the  exemplar  of  that  long 
series  of  salons  which,  for  two  centuries,  were  the  favorite 
trysting-places  of  the  talent,  the  wit,  the  beauty  of  Europe, 
and  which  exerted  such  a  potent  influence  on  society  and 
on  the  progress  of  science  and  literature.  The  mistress  of 
the  salon  was  supreme,  and  she  maintained  her  supremacy 
by  her  tact,  sympathy,  intelligence  and  mental  alertness, 
rather  than  by  learning  and  superior  mental  power. 

Indeed,  it  is  a  singular  fact  that  very  few  of  the  salon- 
teres  were  learned  women.  The  most  gifted  and  the  most 
learned  of  them  were  Mile.  Lespinasse,  Mme.  de  Stael,  and 
Mme.  Swetchine.  Mme.  Geoffrin,  who  was  of  bourgeois 
origin,  was  so  devoid  of  education  that  Voltaire  said  she 
was  unable  to  write  two  lines  correctly.  And  yet,  despite 
her  educational  limitations,  she  became,  by  her  own  un- 
aided efforts,  the  queen  of  intellectual  Europe. 

And,  if  we  may  judge  by  their  portraits,  most  of  the 
great  leaders  of  salons  were  homely,  if  not  positively  ugly, 
and  many  of  them  were  advanced  in  years.  Thus,  Mme. 
du  Deffand — the  female  Voltaire — was  sixty-eight  years 
old  and  blind  when  her  friendship  with  Horace  Walpole, 
one  of  the  wittiest  Englishmen  who  ever  lived,  began — a 
friendship  that  endured  until  her  death  at  the  age  of 
eighty-three.  The  face  of  Mile,  de  Lespinasse  was  disfig- 
ured by  smallpox  and  her  eyesight  was  impaired ;  and  yet, 
without  rank,  wealth  or  beauty,  she  was  the  pivot  around 
which  circled  the  talent  and  fashion  of  Paris,  and  whose 
personal  magnetism  was  so  great  that  the  state,  the  church, 


90  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

the  court,  as  well  as  foreign  countries,  had  their  most  dis- 
tinguished representatives  in  her  salon. 

Here  she  received  and  entertained  her  friends  every 
evening  from  five  until  nine  o  'clock.  ' '  It  was, '  *  writes  La 
Harpe,  "almost  a  title  to  consideration  to  be  received  into 
this  society.  • '  So  great  was  the  influence  exerted  by  Mile, 
de  Lespinasse  that  she  bent  savants  to  her  will  by  the  sheer 
force  of  genius.  Her  salon  became  known  as  "the  ante- 
chamber of  the  French  Academy";  for  it  was  asserted  that 
half  the  academicians  of  her  time  owed  their  fauteuils  to 
her  active  canvass  in  their  behalf.  And  so  successful  was 
she  in  opening  the  lips  and  minds  of  her  habitues,  whether 
an  historian  like  Hume,  a  philosopher  like  Condillac,  a 
statesman  like  Turgot,  a  mathematician  like  d'Alembert,  a 
litterateur  like  Marmontel  or  an  encyclopedist  like  Con- 
dorcet,  that  it  was  said  of  her  that  she  made  "marble  feel 
and  matter  think." 

She  was  a  veritable  enchantress  of  the  great  and  the 
learned  of  her  time.  She  did  not,  however,  wield  her 
magic  wand  through  her  learning,  or  the  accident  of  birth, 
or  the  physical  attractions  of  person,  but  solely  by  reason 
of  her  wonderful  vivacity,  charm  of  mind,  and  exquisite 
tact,  which  consisted,  as  those  who  knew  her  well  tell  us, 
"in  the  art  of  saying  to  each  that  which  suits  him,"  and 
in  "making  the  best  of  the  minds  of  others,  of  interesting 
them,  and  of  bringing  them  into  play  without  any  appear- 
ance of  constraint  or  effort."  This  rare  faculty  it  was 
which  secured  for  her  a  supremacy  in  the  world  of  thought 
and  action  that  has  been  accorded  to  but  few  women  in 
the  world 's  history.  Vibrant  with  emotion  and  passion,  she 
reminds  one  of  the  gifted  but  hapless  Heloise.  Marmontel, 
who  had  such  a  high  opinion  of  her  judgment  that  he  sub- 
mitted his  works  for  her  criticism,  as  Moliere  had  sub- 
mitted his  to  Ninon  de  Lenclos,  describes  her  as  "the 
keenest  intelligence,  the  most  ardent  soul,  the  most  inflam- 
mable imagination  that  has  existed  since  Sappho." 


WOMAN'S   LONG    STRUGGLE  91 

But  aside  from  what  she  achieved  indirectly  through  the 
habitues  of  her  salon,  what  has  this  supremely  clever  woman 
left  to  the  world?  Only  a  few  love  letters  to  a  heartless 
coxcomb. 

And  what  have  the  other  noted  salonieres  from  the  time 
of  the  Marquise  de  Rambouillet  to  that  of  Mme.  Swetchine 
— full  two  centuries — bequeathed  to  us  that  is  worth  pre- 
serving? With  the  exception  of  the  works  of  Mme.  de 
Stael,  whom  Lord  Jeffrey  declared  to  be  "the  greatest  fe- 
male writer  in  any  age  or  country/'  we  have  little  more 
than  certain  Memoires  and  Correspondances  whose  chief 
claims  to  fame  rest  on  the  vivid  pictures  which  they  pre- 
sent of  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  time  and  of  the 
celebrities  who  were  regarded  as  the  chief  ornaments  of 
the  salons  which  they  severally  frequented.  Most  of  these 
works  were  posthumous;  for  few  women,  after  Moliere's 
merciless  scoring  of  learned  women,  had  the  courage  to 
appear  in  print.  Even  Mme.  de  Scudery,  one  of  the  most 
gifted  and  prolific  writers  of  the  period,  gave  her  first 
novel  to  the  world  under  her  brother's  name.  And  so 
tabooed  was  female  authorship  that  Mme.  de  La  Fayette, 
one  of  the  most  brilliant  of  the  precieuses,  disclaimed  all 
knowledge  of  her  Princesse  de  Cleves,  while  her  master- 
piece, Histoire  d'Henriette  d'Angleterre,  was  not  published 
until  after  her  death. 

The  truth  is  that  the  period  of  the  salon  was  for  the 
most  part  a  period  of  contrasts  and  contradictions.  At 
first  the  better  educated  salonieres  were  chiefly  interested 
in  belles-lettres.  Then  they  devoted  themselves  more  to 
science  and  philosophy,  and  finally,  during  the  years  im- 
mediately preceding  the  Revolution,  they  found  their 
greatest  pleasure  in  politics.  As  for  the  men,  while  pro- 
fessing to  adore  women,  they  had  little  esteem  for  them, 
and  still  less  respect.  Often,  it  is  true,  the  women  who 
frequented  the  salons  were  deserving  neither  of  respect  nor 
of  esteem. 


92  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

Sydney  Smith  spoke  of  those  under  the  old  regime  as 
"  women  of  brilliant  talents  who  violated  all  the  common 
duties  of  life  and  gave  very  pleasant  little  suppers."  It 
was  certainly  true  of  many  of  them — even  of  some  of  the 
most  distinguished — such,  for  instance,  as  Mme.  d'Epinay, 
Mme.  du  Deffand,  Ninon  de  Lenclos  and  Mme.  Tencin,  the 
mother  of  D'Alembert.  There  was  little  in  their  manner 
of  life  to  distinguish  them  from  the  hetcerce  of  ancient 
Athens,  and  it  was  probably  owing  to  this  fact,  as  well  as 
their  wit  and  brilliancy,  that  many  of  them  attained  such 
preeminence  as  social  leaders.  The  statesmen,  philoso- 
phers, men  of  science  and  letters  of  France,  like  those  of 
Greece  more  than  two  thousand  years  before,  wanted  dis- 
traction and  amusement.  That  the  mistresses  of  the  salons 
should  be  women  of  learning  was  of  little  moment.  The  all 
important  thing  for  their  habitues  was  that  they  should 
be  good  entertainers — that  they  should  be  witty,  tactful 
and  sympathetic — and,  if  ignorant,  that  they  should  be 
brilliantly  ignorant,  and,  at  the  same  time,  enchantingly 
frank  and  naive. 

Strange  as  it  may  appear  there  was  as  much  hostility 
to  learned  women  at  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century  as 
there  was  in  the  time  of  Louis  XIV.  And  the  remarkable 
fact  is  that  the  strongest  opponents  of  women's  education 
were  found  among  the  most  prominent  writers  and  schol- 
ars of  the  day — men  who,  like  their  predecessors  of  old, 
based  their  opposition  on  the  assumed  mental  inferiority 
of  woman.  Thus,  to  Eousseau,  woman  was  at  best  but ' '  an 
imperfect  man,"  and,  in  many  respects,  little  more  than 
"a  grown-up  child."  Search  after  abstract  and  specula- 
tive truths,  principles  and  axioms  in  science,  "everything 
that  tends  to  generalize  ideas  is  outside  of  her  compe- 
tence." That  means  that  women  are  to  be  excluded  from 
the  study  of  mathematics  and  the  physical  sciences,  because 
they  are  incapable  of  generalization,  abstraction,  and  the 
mental  concentration  that  these  subjects  demand.     Even 


WOMAN'S    LONG    STRUGGLE  93 

the  masterpieces  of  literature,  according  to  him,  are  beyond 
their  comprehension.  In  a  word,  feminine  studies,  Rous- 
seau will  have  it,  should  relate  exclusively  to  practical  and 
domestic  matters  and  he  endorses  the  words  of  Moliere 
that 

"It  is  not  seemly,  and  for  many  reasons, 
That  a  woman  should  study  and  know  so  many  things." 

Diderot,  Montesquieu,  Voltaire  and  the  Encyclopedists 
share  the  views  of  Rousseau.  Diderot  declares  that  serious 
studies  do  not  comport  with  woman's  sex,  while  Montes- 
quieu would  limit  female  education  to  mere  accomplish- 
ments. 

But  this  is  not  all.  Antagonistic  as  these  men  were  to 
the  education  of  the  daughters  of  the  nobility  and  the  well- 
to-do,  they  were  entirely  opposed  to  the  education  of  the 
children  of  the  poor.  "The  good  of  society,"  it  was 
averred,  "demands  that  the  instruction  of  the  people  ex- 
tend not  beyond  their  occupations. ' '  "  The  poor, ' '  declares 
Rousseau,  ' '  have  no  need  of  instruction, ' '  and  Voltaire  and 
the  Encyclopedists  say,  "Amen."1 

Very  little  need  be  said  about  the  education  of  women  in 
Germany  during  the  period  we  have  been  considering. 
When  there  was  any  at  all,  it  was  of  the  most  rudimentary 
character,  while  as  to  books,  they  were  limited  to  the  kind 
recommended  by  Byron  for  the  women  of  modern  Greece 

i  No  one,  however,  went  so  far  in  his  opposition  to  the  education 
of  women  as  the  notorious  Silvain  Marechal,  the  author  of  Projet 
d'une  Loi  portant  Defense  d'Apprendre  d  Lire  aux  Femmes,  who 
would  have  a  law  passed  forbidding  women  to  learn  to  read.  He 
maintained  that  a  knowledge  of  science  and  letters  interfered  with 
their  being  good  housekeepers.  "Beason, "  he  avers,  "does  not 
approve  of  women  studying  chemistry.  Women  who  are  unable  to 
read  make  the  best  soup.  I  would  rather,"  he  declares  in  the  words 
of  Balza*,yhave  a  wife  with  a  beard  than  a  wife  who  is  educated." 
See  pp.  49,  50  and  51,  of  the  edition  of  this  strange  work,  published 
at  Brussels,  1847. 


94  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

— " books  of  piety  and  cookery."  The  attitude  of  the  Ger- 
mans generally  toward  female  education,  for  centuries  past, 
was  clearly  denned  by  the  Kaiser  Wilhelm  II,  when,  a  few 
years  ago,  he  publicly  stated:  "I  agree  with  my  wife. 
She  says  women  have  no  business  to  interfere  with  any- 
thing outside  of  the  four  K's,  that  is,  Kinder,  Kirche, 
Kiiche,  Kleider — children,  church,  kitchen,  clothes." 

There  was,  however,  during  the  period  we  are  now  con- 
sidering, one  remarkable  example  of  a  learned  woman  of 
Teutonic  origin.  This  was  the  famous  Anna  Maria  van 
Schurman,  who  was  one  of  the  most  gifted  women  that 
ever  lived.  She  was,  probably,  as  near  to  being  a  universal 
genius  as  any  one  of  her  sex  of  whom  we  have  knowledge. 
Artist,  musician,  poet,  philosopher,  theologian,  linguist, 
she  was  the  admiration  of  the  scholars  of  the  world  and 
the  pride  of  the  Low  Countries — the  land  of  her  birth. 
She  lived  when  Holland  was  in  the  van  of  human  progress 
and  amidst  of  the  splendors  of  the  Dutch  Renaissance.  She 
was  the  friend  and  correspondent  of  the  most  distinguished 
scholars  and  most  noted  celebrities  of  her  time.  Among 
these  were  Voet,  Spanheim,  Descartes,  Gassendi,  Constan- 
tine  Huyghens,  Princess  Elizabeth  of  Bohemia,  Queen 
Christina  of  Sweden,  and  Cardinal  Richelieu.  To  go  to  the 
Netherlands,  it  was  then  said,  without  seeing  Anna  van 
Schurman,  was  like  going  to  Paris  without  seeing  the  king. 
She  was  hailed  as  "The  Tenth  Muse,"  "The  Sappho  of 
Holland,"  "The  Oracle  of  Art,"  "The  Star  of  Utrecht." 

That,  however,  which  gave  the  greatest  renown  to  the 
"Learned  Maid,"  as  Anna  was  called,  was  her  extraordi- 
nary knowledge  of  languages.  For,  besides  being  profi- 
cient in  the  chief  modern  tongues  of  Europe,  she  was  well 
acquainted  with  Latin,  Greek,  Hebrew,  Syro-Chaldaic  and 
Ethiopic.  The  oriental  languages  she  studied  as  an  aid  to 
the  better  understanding  of  Holy  Scripture. 

She  was  the  author  of  several  works,  among  which  was 
an  Ethiopic  grammar  which  was  acclaimed  by  the  profes- 


WOMAN'S    LONG    STRUGGLE  95 

ors  of  the  Dutch  universities  as  a  marvelous  achievement, 
ler  best  known  volume  is  designated  Opuscula.  It  was 
irought  out  by  the  Elzevirs  in  Leyden  and  went  through 
everal  editions.  It  is  composed  of  letters  and  short 
reatises  in  French,  Latin,  Greek  and  Hebrew — in  verse  as 
pell  as  prose. 

Of  more  value,  if  less  striking,  than  the  productions 
Lamed  were  the  "Learned  Maid's"  writings  in  favor  of  the 
ntellectual  enfranchisement  of  her  own  sex.  In  a  letter  to 
)r.  Rivet,  Professor  of  Theology  in  Leyden,  she  declares: 

"My  deep  regard  for  learning,  my  conviction  that  equal 
ustice  is  the  right  of  all,  impel  me  to  protest  against  the 
heory  which  would  allow  only  a  minority  of  my  sex  to 
ittain  to  what  is  in  the  opinion  of  all  men  most  worth 
Laving.  For,  since  wisdom  is  admitted  to  be  the  crown  of 
luman  achievement,  and  is  within  every  man's  right  to 
dm  at  in  proportion  to  his  opportunities,  I  cannot  see  why 
i  young  girl,  in  whom  we  admit  a  desire  of  self-improve- 
nent,  should  not  be  encouraged  to  acquire  the  best  that 
ife  affords." 

To  those  who  objected  that  the  distaff  and  the  needle 
\rere  sufficient  to  occupy  women 's  minds,  Anna  Maria  made 
tnswer  that  the  words  of  Plutarch — ' '  It  becomes  a  perfect 
nan  to  know  what  is  to  be  known  and  to  do  what  is  to  be 
ione" — applied  with  equal  truth  to  a  perfect  woman.1 

In  England,  until  the  latter  part  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 

iln  her  Vroblema  Practicum,  addressed  to  Dr.  Eivet,  Anna  van 
■Ichurman  states  and  develops  in  true  syllogistic  form  a  series  of 
)ropositions  in  defense  of  her  thesis  in  favor  of  the  higher  educa- 
ion  of  women.  Two  of  these  propositions  are  here  given  as  illustra- 
ive  of  her  points  of  view: 

I.  Cui  natura  inest  scientiarum  artiumque  desiderium,  ei  con- 
reniunt  scientiEe  et  artes.  Atque  feminae  natura  inest  scientiarum 
irtiumque  desiderium.     Ergo. 

II.  Quidquid  intellectum  hominis  perficit  et  exornat,  id  femmse 
Christianas  convenit.  Atqui  seientise  et  artes  intellectum  hominis 
perficiunt  et  exornant.    Ergo.    See  Nobiliss.    Virginis  Anna  Schur- 


96  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

tury,  the  educational  status  of  women  was  but  little  better 
than  in  Germany.  During  the  Stuart  period  schools  for 
girls  were  so  scarce  that  most  of  those  who  received  any 
education  at  all  obtained  it  at  home  under  private  tutors. 
Even  then  it  rarely  embraced  more  than  reading,  writing, 
needlework,  singing,  dancing  and  playing  on  the  lute  or 
virginal.1 

As  to  the  higher  studies  for  women,  Lady  Mary  Wortley 
Montagu  writes  as  follows:  "My  sex  is  usually  forbid 
studies  of  this  nature  and  folly  reckoned  so  much  our 
proper  sphere  that  we  are  sooner  pardoned  any  excesses  of 
that  than  the  least  pretensions  to  reading  or  good  sense. 
We  are  permitted  no  books  but  such  as  tend  to  the  weaken- 
ing or  effeminating  of  the  mind.  Our  natural  defects  are 
in  every  way  indulged,  and  it  is  looked  upon  as  in  a  degree 
criminal  to  improve  our  reason  or  fancy  we  have  any.  .  .  J 
There  is  hardly  a  creature  in  the  world  more  despicable, 
or  more  liable  to  universal  ridicule  than  that  of  a  learned 
woman:  these  words  imply,  according  to  the  received 
sense,  a  tattling,  impertinent,  vain  and  conceited  crea- 
ture/'2 

man  Opuscula,  pp.  35  and  41,  Leyden,  1656,  and  her  Be  Ingenii 
Muliebris  ad  Doctrinam  et  Meliores  Literas  Aptitudine,  Leyden, 
1641.  Cf.  also  Anna  van  Schurman,  Chap.  IV,  by  Una  Birch,  London, 
1909. 

i  A  writer  of  the  seventeenth  century  gives  the  following  as  the 
popular  programme  of  female  study :  "To  learn  alle  pointes  of  good 
housewifery,  spinning  of  linen,  the  ordering  of  dairies,  to  see  to  the 
salting  of  meate,  brewing,  bakery,  and  to  understand  the  common 
prices  of  all  houshold  provisions.  To  keepe  account  of  all  things, 
to  know  the  condition  of  the  poultry — for  it  misbecomes  no  woman 
to  be  a  hen-wife.  To  know  how  to  order  your  clothes  and  with  fru- 
gality to  mend  them  and  to  buy  but  what  is  necessary  with  ready! 
money.  To  love  to  keep  at  home. ' '  How  like  the  German  four  K  9 
and  the  words  on  the  sarcophagus  of  a  Eoman  matron — lanifica,  frugi, 
domiseda — a  diligent  plyer  of  the  distaff,  thrifty  and  a  stay-at-home. 

2  The  Letters  and  Works  of  Lady  Mary  Wortley  Montagu,  Vol. 
II,  p.  5,  Bohn  Edition,  1887. 


WOMAN'S    LONG    STRUGGLE  97 

Higher  studies  for  their  daughters  were  regarded  by  the 
generality  of  men,  the  same  writer  tells  us,  "as  great  a 
profanation  as  the  clergy  would  do  if  the  laity  would  pre- 
sume to  exercise  the  functions  of  the  priesthood." 

Keferring  to  the  handicaps  suffered  by  the  women  of 
England  in  the  pursuit  of  knowledge,  the  same  writer  de- 
dares:  "We  are  educated  in  the  grossest  ignorance,  and 
10  art  is  omitted  to  stifle  our  natural  reason;  if  some  few 
jet  above  their  nurses'  instructions,  our  knowledge  must 
>e  concealed  and  be  as  useless  to  the  world  as  gold  in  the 
nine." 

Lord  Chesterfield,  in  His  Letters  to  His  Son,  expresses 
;he  opinion  of  his  contemporaries  when  he  writes  on  the 
lame  subject  as  follows:  "Women  are  only  children  of  a 
arger  growth ;  they  have  an  entertaining  tattle,  sometimes 
vit;  but,  for  solid  reasoning,  good  sense,  I  never  in  my 
ife  knew  one  who  had  it,  or  who  reasoned  or  acted  conse- 
luentially  for  twenty-four  hours  together.  ...  A  man  of 
lense  only  trifles  with  them,  plays  with  them,  humors  and 
latters  them  as  he  does  a  sprightly  forward  child;  but  he 
leither  consults  them  about  nor  trusts  them  with  serious 
natters,  though  he  often  makes  them  believe  he  does  both, 
vhich  is  the  thing  in  the  world  which  they  are  proud  of; 
'or  they  love  mightily  to  be  dabbling  in  business,  which, 
>y  the  way,  they  always  spoil,  and,  being  distrustful  that 
nen  in  general  look  upon  them  in  a  trifling  light,  they 
tlmost  adore  that  man  who  talks  to  them  seriously  and 
eems  to  consult  and  trust  them."1 

i  Letter  XLIX,  London,  Sept.  5,  O.  S.,  1748. 

Walpole,  writing  in  1773,  makes  the  following  curious  declaration: 
'I  made  a  discovery — Lady  Nuneham  is  a  poetess,  and  writes  with 
p-eat  ease  and  sense  some  poetry,  but  is  as  afraid  of  the  character, 
;s  if  it  was  a  sin  to  make  verses.''  And  Lord  Granville  tells  us  of 
m  eminent  statesman  and  man  of  letters  who,  in  the  early  part  of 
he  last  century,  was  so  troubled  on  discovering  in  his  daughter 
i  talent  for  poetry  that  he  "appealed  to  her  affection  for  him,  and 
nade  a  request  to  her  never  to   write  verses  again.     He  was  not 


98  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

And  this  was  written  by  that  ' '  mirror  of  politeness  and 
chivalry' '  whose  name  has  for  two  centuries  been  synony* 
mous  with  that  of  a  perfect  gentleman !  And  Lady  Monj 
tagu  was  compelled  to  pen  her  caustic  and  pathetic  plaintq 
during  the  age  of  Pope,  Steele,  Addison,  Swift,1  Johnson, 
Dryden  and  Goldsmith — the  most  brilliant  pleiad  of  liters 
ary  men  that  England  had  known  since  the  days  of  Shake-? 
speare. 

So  unnatural  for  women  were  literary  and  scientific) 
pursuits  regarded  by  all  classes  that  the  few  who  attained 
any  eminence  in  them  were  classed  as  abnormal  creatures 
who  deserved  no  more  consideration  than  did  the  Pret 
cieuses  across  the  Channel.  And  so  great  was  the  power 
of  public  sentiment  against  women  writers  that  Fannjj 
Burney  was  afraid  to  acknowledge  the  authorship  of  Eve* 
Una.  Even  in  Jane  Austen's  days,  the  feeling  that  a 
woman,  in  writing  a  book,  was  overstepping  the  limitation^ 
of  her  sex  was  so  pronounced  that  she  never  actually 
avowed  the  authorship  of  those  charming  works  which 
have  been  the  delight  of  three  generations  of  readers.  II 
was  this  same  sentiment  that  caused  the  Bronte  sisters  ana 
George  Eliot,  as  well  as  many  other  notable  women,  to 
write  under  pseudonyms.     They  feared  to  disclose  theii 

afraid  of  her  becoming  a  good  poetess,  but  he  was  afraid  of  the 
disadvantages  which  were  likely  to  be  suffered  by  her,  if  she  werl 
supposed  to  be  a  lady  of  literary  attainments." 

i  It  was  Swift  who  had  such  a  low  opinion  of  woman 's  intellect 
that  in  writing  to  one  of  his  fair  correspondents  he  told  her  that  sty 
could  "  never  arrive  in  point  of  learning  to  the  perfection  of  a 
schoolboy."  Lady  Pennington,  strange  to  say,  seems  to  have  shared 
his  views,  for  in  a  manual  of  advice  to  young  ladies,  she  declares: 
"A  sensible  woman  will  soon  be  convinced  that  all  the  learning  th« 
utmost  application  can  make  her  master  of  will  be  in  many  point! 
inferior  to  that  of  the  schoolboy."  "At  the  time  the  Tatler  first 
appeared  in  the  female  world  any  acquaintance  with  books  was  dis- 
tinguished only  to  be  censured,"  and  it  was  then  considered  "more 
important  for  a  woman  to  dance  a  minuet  well  than  to  know  a  fofr 
eign  language." 


WOMAN'S    LONG    STRUGGLE  99 

sex  lest  their  works,  if  known  as  the  productions  of  women, 
should  be  ipso  facto  branded  as  of  inferior  merit. 

During  the  period  in  question  women  fared  no  better  in 
the  United  States  than  in  England.  They  were  subject  to 
the  same  educational  debarment  and  were  the  victims  of 
the  same  snobbery  and  intolerance.  The  Pilgrim  Fathers 
and  their  descendants  for  many  generations  made  no  secret 
of  their  belief  in  the  mental  inferiority  of  woman,  and 
applied  to  her  the  gospel  of  liberty  contained  in  the  fol- 
lowing words  of  Eve  to  Adam  as  given  in  Paradise  Lost: 

"My  author  and  dispenser,  what  thou  bidst 
Unargued  I  obey;  so  God  ordains; 
God  is  thy  law,  thou  mine:  to  know  no  more 
Is  woman's  happiest  knowledge  and  her  praise." 

To  the  Puritan  of  New  England,  as  to  the  Puritan  Mil- 
ton, the  relative  attainments  of  woman  and  man  were 
tersely  expressed  in  Tennyson's  couplet: 

"She  knows   but   matters   of  the  house, 
And  he,   he  knows  a  thousand  things." 

To  us  one  of  the  most  astounding  facts  in  the  educa- 
tional history  of  New  England  is  the  long  time  during 
which  girls  were  without  free  school  opportunities.  Thus, 
although  schools  had  been  established  within  twenty  years 
after  the  Pilgrims  landed  at  Plymouth  Rock,  it  was  not 
until  a  century  and  a  half  later  that  their  doors  were 
opened  to  girls.  The  public  schools  of  Boston  were  estab- 
lished in  1642,  but  were  not  opened  for  girls  until  1789; 
and  then  only  for  instruction  in  spelling,  reading  and  com- 
position, and  that  but  one  half  of  the  year.  There  was 
no  high  school  in  Boston,  the  vaunted  Athens  of  America, 
until  1852. 

Harvard  College  was  founded  in  1636  for  the  education 
of  "ye  English  and  Indian  youth  of  this  country  in  knowl- 
edge and  godlyness,"  but  in  this  institution  no  provision 


100  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

was  made  for  women  and  its  doors  are  still  closed  to 
them. 

"The  prevailing  notion  of  the  purpose  of  education,' ' 
declares  Charles  Francis  Adams,  in  speaking  of  Harvard 
College,  "was  attended  with  one  remarkable  consequence 
— the  cultivation  of  the  female  mind  was  regarded  with 
utter  indifference;  as  Mrs.  Abigail  Adams  says  in  one  of 
her  letters,  '  it  was  fashionable  to  ridicule  learning. '  ' '  l 

It  was  not  until  1865  that  Matthew  Vassar,  "recogniz- 
ing in  women  the  same  intellectual  constitution  as  in  man, ' ' 
founded  the  first  woman's  college  in  the  United  States. 
This  was  soon  followed  by  similar  institutions  in  various 
parts  of  this  country  and  Europe.  In  less  than  ten  years 
thereafter  Girton  and  Newnham  colleges  were  founded  at 
Cambridge,  England,  in  order  that  women  might  be  en- 
abled to  enter  upon  a  regular  university  career. 

In  all  the  universities  of  England,  Scotland  and  Ireland, 
except  Oxford,  Cambridge  2  and  Trinity  College,  Dublin, 

i  The  wife  of  President  John  Adams,  descended  from  the  most 
illustrious  colonial  families,  writing  in  1817,  regarding  the  educa- 
tional opportunities  of  the  girls  of  her  time  and  rank,  expressed 
herself  as  follows: 

"Female  education  in  the  best  families  went  no  farther  than 
writing  and  arithmetic,  and,  in  some  few  and  rare  instances,  music 
and  dancing."  According  to  her  grandson,  Charles  Francis  Adams, 
"The  only  chance  for  much  intellectual  improvement  in  the  female 
sex  was  to  be  found  in  the  families  of  the  educated  class,  and  in 
occasional  intercourse  with  the  learned  of  the  day.  Whatever  of 
useful  instruction  was  secured  in  the  practical  conduct  of  life  came 
from  maternal  lips;  and,  what  of  farther  mental  development  de- 
pended more  upon  the  eagerness  with  which  the  casual  teachings  of 
daily  conversation  were  treasured  up  than  upon  any  labor  expended 
purposely  to  promote  it. ' '  Familiar  Letters  of  John  Adams  and  His 
Wife,  Abigail  Adams,  During  the  Revolution,  With  a  Memoir  of  Mrs. 
Adams,  by  Charles  Francis  Adams,  pp.  X  and  XI,  New  York,  1876. 

2  When  the  students  of  Girton  and  Newnham  in  1897,  after  pass- 
ing the  Cambridge  examinations — many  of  them  with  the  highest 
honors — applied  for  degrees,  "the  undergraduate  world  was  stirred 
to  a  fine  frenzy  of  wrath  against  all  womankind,"  and  an  aston- 


WOMAN'S    LONG    STRUGGLE  101 

women  are  now  admitted  to  all  departments,  pass  the  same 
examinations  as  the  men  and  receive  the  same  academic 
degrees.  Germany,  whose  institutions  for  the  higher  edu- 
cation of  men  have  so  long  been  justly  famous,  was  ex- 
ceedingly slow  to  open  its  universities  to  women,  and  then 
only  after  the  most  stubborn  opposition  of  those  who  still 
maintained  that  the  studies  of  women  should  be  limited  to 
the  three  R's  and  their  occupations  confined  to  the  four 
K's.  But  even  in  this  conservative  country  the  cause  of 
woman  has  at  length  triumphed,  and  she  now  enjoys  edu- 
cational advantages  that  a  few  decades  ago  were  deemed 
forever  impossible. 

And  so  it  is  in  every  civilized  country.  Woman's  long 
struggle  for  complete  intellectual  freedom  is  almost  ended, 
and  certain  victory  is  already  in  sight.  In  spite  of  the 
sarcasm  and  ridicule  of  satirists  and  comic  poets,  in  spite 
of  the  antipathy  of  philosophers  and  the  antagonism  of 
legislators  who  persisted  in  treating  women  as  inferior 
beings,  they  are  finally  in  view  of  the  goal  toward  which 
they  have  through  so  many  long  ages  been  bending  their 
best  efforts.  Moreover,  so  effective  and  so  concentrated 
has  been  their  work  during  recent  years  that  they  have 
accomplished  more  toward  securing  complete  intellectual 
enfranchisement  than  during  the  previous  thirty  centuries. 

From  the  former  home  of  the  Vikings  to  the  romantic 
land  of  the  Cid,  from  the  capital  of  Holy  Russia  to  the 
fair  metropolis  of  the  Golden  Gate,  women  are  now  wel- 
comed to  the  very  institutions  from  which  but  a  few  years 
ago  they  were  so  systematically  excluded.  They  attend 
the  same  courses  as  men,  pass  the  same  examinations  and 
receive  the  same  degrees  and  honors.  Their  sex  is  no 
longer  a  bar  to  positions  and  employment  that  only  a 

ished  world  saw  re-enacted  scenes  scarcely  less  disgraceful  than  those 
which  characterized  the  riotous  demonstrations  which,  seventeen  years 
before,  had  greeted  seven  young  women  at  the  portals  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Edinburgh. 


lOfc  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

generation  ago  were  considered  proper  only  for  the  proud 
and  imperious  male.  They  have  proved  beyond  cavil  that 
genius  knows  not  sex,  and  that,  given  a  fair  opportunity, 
they  are  competent  to  achieve  success  in  every  department 
of  human  effort. 

Thus,  to  speak  only  of  Europe,  there  are  to-day  women 
professors  in  the  universities  of  Norway,  Sweden,  Switzer- 
land, France,  Greece  and  Russia,  as  there  have  been  in 
Italy  since  the  closing  years  of  the  Dark  Ages.  They 
lecture  on  science,  literature,  law  and  medicine,  and  in  a 
manner  to  extort  the  admiration  of  their  erstwhile  antag- 
onists. In  Germany  and  Hungary  there  are  women  chem- 
ists and  architects,  while  it  is  a  matter  of  record  that  the 
best  construction  work  done  on  the  trans-Siberian  railroad 
was  that  in  charge  of  a  woman  engineer. 

As  an  illustration  of  the  marvelous  change  which  has 
been  brought  about  during  the  last  three-quarters  of  a 
century  in  the  educational  status  of  woman,  I  can  do  no 
better  than  transcribe  a  few  passages  from  a  work  by  Sir 
Walter  Besant  describing  the  transformation  of  woman 
during  the  reign  of  Queen  Victoria;  for  it  applies  to  all 
civilized  countries  as  well  as  to  England. 

"The  young  lady  of  1837  has  been  to  a  fashionable 
school;  she  has  learned  accomplishments,  deportment  and 
dress.  She  is  full  of  sentiment;  there  was  an  amazing 
amount  of  sentiment  in  the  air  about  that  time;  she  loves 
to  talk  and  read  about  gallant  knights,  crusaders  and 
troubadors;  she  gently  touches  the  guitar;  her  sentiment, 
or  her  little  affectation,  has  touched  her  with  a  graceful 
melancholy,  a  becoming  stoop,  a  sweet  pensiveness.  She 
loves  the  aristocracy,  even  although  her  home  is  in  that 
part  of  London  called  Bloomsbury,  whither  the  belted  earl 
cometh  not,  even  though  her  papa  goes  into  the  City;  she 
reads  a  deal  of  poetry,  especially  those  poems  which  deal 
with  the  affections,  of  which  there  are  many  at  this  time. 
On  Sunday  she  goes  to  church  religiously  and  pensively, 


WOMAN'S    LONG    STRUGGLE  103 

followed  by  a  footman  carrying  her  prayerbook  and  a  long 
stick ;  she  can  play  on  the  guitar  and  the  piano  a  few  easy 
pieces  which  she  has  learned.  She  knows  a  few  words  of 
French,  which  she  produces  at  frequent  intervals;  as  to 
history,  geography,  science,  the  condition  of  the  people, 
her  mind  is  an  entire  blank;  she  knows  nothing  of  these 
things.  Her  conversation  is  commonplace,  as  her  ideas  are 
limited;  she  can  not  reason  on  any  subject  whatever  be- 
cause of  her  ignorance;  or,  as  she  herself  would  say,  be- 
cause she  is  a  woman.  In  her  presence,  and  indeed  in  the 
presence  of  ladies  generally,  men  talk  trivialities.  There 
was  indeed  a  general  belief  that  women  were  creatures 
incapable  of  argument,  or  of  reason,  or  of  connected 
thought.  It  was  no  use  arguing  about  the  matter.  The 
Lord  had  made  them  so.  Women,  said  the  philosophers, 
can  not  understand  logic;  they  see  things,  if  they  do  see 
them  at  all,  by  instinctive  perception.  This  theory  ac- 
counted for  everything,  for  those  cases  when  women  un- 
doubtedly did  'see  things.'  Also  it  fully  justified  people 
in  withholding  from  women  any  kind  of  education  worthy 
the  name.    A  quite  needless  expense,  you  understand/ ' 

Her  amusements,  we  are  told,  were  "those  of  an  ama- 
teur— a  few  pieces  on  the  guitar  and  the  piano  and  some 
slight  power  of  sketching  or  flower  painting  in  water- 
colors."  The  literature  she  read  "endeavored  to  mold 
woman  on  the  theory  of  recognized  intellectual  inferiority 
to  man.  She  was  considered  beneath  him  in  intellect  as 
in  physical  strength ;  she  was  exhorted  to  defer  to  man ;  to 
acknowledge  his  superiority;  not  to  show  herself  anxious 
to  combat  his  opinions.  .  .  . 

"This  system  of  artificial  restraints  certainly  produced 
faithful  wives,  gentle  mothers,  loving  sisters,  able  house- 
wives. God  forbid  that  we  should  say  otherwise,  but  it  is 
certain  that  the  intellectual  attainments  of  women  were 
then  what  we  should  call  contemptible,  and  the  range  of 
subjects  of  which  they  knew  nothing  was  absurdly  narrow 


104  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

and  limited.  I  detect  the  woman  of  1840  in  the  character 
of  Mrs.  Clive  Newcome,  and,  indeed,  in  Mrs.  George  Os- 
borne, and  in  other  familiar  characters  of  Thackeray.' ' 

Then  Sir  Walter,  turning  to  the  young  Englishwoman 
of  1897,  thus  describes  her : 

"She  is  educated.  Whatsoever  things  are  taught  to  the 
young  man  are  taught  to  the  young  woman;  the  keys  of 
knowledge  are  given  to  her;  she  gathers  of  the  famous 
tree;  if  she  wants  to  explore  the  wickedness  of  the  world 
she  can  do  so,  for  it  is  all  in  the  books.  The  secrets  of 
nature  are  not  closed  to  her;  she  can  learn  the  structure 
of  the  body  if  she  wishes.  The  secrets  of  science  are  all 
open  to  her  if  she  cares  to  study  them. 

"At  school,  at  college,  she  studies  just  as  the  young  man 
studies,  but  harder  and  with  greater  concentration.  She 
has  proved  her  ability  in  the  Honors  Tripos  of  every 
branch ;  she  has  beaten  the  senior  wrangler  in  mathematics ; 
she  has  taken  a  'first-class'  in  classics,  in  history,  in  sci- 
ence, in  languages.  She  has  proved,  not  that  she  is  a  man 's 
equal  in  intellect,  though  she  claims  so  much,  because  she 
has  not  yet  advanced  any  branch  of  learning,  of  science, 
one  single  step,  but  she  has  proved  her  capacity  to  take  her 
place  beside  the  young  men  who  are  the  flower  of  their 
generation — the  young  men  who  stand  in  the  first  class  of 
honors  when  they  take  their  degree.  .  .  . 

1 '  Personal  independence — that  is  the  keynote  of  the  situ- 
ation. Mothers  no  longer  attempt  the  old  control  over 
their  daughters;  they  would  find  it  impossible.  The  girls 
go  off  by  themselves  on  their  bicycles;  they  go  about  as 
they  please;  they  neither  compromise  themselves  nor  get 
talked  about;  for  the  first  time  in  man's  history  it  is  re- 
garded as  a  right  and  proper  thing  to  trust  a  girl  as  a 
boy  insists  upon  being  trusted.  Out  of  this  personal  free- 
dom will  come,  I  dare  say,  a  change  in  the  old  feelings  of 
young  man  to  maiden.  He  will  not  see  in  her  a  frail, 
tender  plant  which  must  be  protected  from  cold  winds; 


WOMAN'S    LONG    STRUGGLE  105 

she  can  protect  herself  perfectly  well.  He  will  not  see  in 
her  any  longer  a  creature  of  sweet  emotions  and  pure 
aspirations,  coupled  with  a  complete  ignorance  of  the 
world,  because  she  already  knows  all  that  she  wants  to 
know.  .  .  . 

"Perhaps  the  greatest  change  is  that  woman  now  does 
thoroughly  what  before  she  only  did  as  an  amateur. '  * 

Yes,  the  world  is  beginning  at  last  to  realize  the  truth 
of  the  proposition  which  the  learned  Maria  Gaetana  Agnesi 
so  eloquently  defended  nearly  two  centuries  ago — to  wit, 
that  nature  has  endowed  the  female  mind  with  a  capacity 
for  all  knowledge,  and  that,  in  depriving  women  of  an 
opportunity  of  acquiring  knowledge,  men  work  against  the 
best  interests  of  the  public  weal.2 

We  are  at  the  long  last  near  that  millennium  which  Emer- 
son had  in  mind  when,  in  1822,  he  predicted  "a  time  when 
higher  institutions  for  the  education  of  young  women 
would  be  as  needful  as  colleges  for  young  men" — that  mil- 
lennium for  which  women  have  hoped  and  striven  ever 
since  Sappho  sang  and  Aspasia  inspired  the  brightest,  the 
noblest  minds  of  Greece. 

1  The  Queen's  Beign,  Chap.  V,  London,  1897. 

2  Proposition  third,  of  her  Propositiones  Philosophicce,  Milan, 
1738,  reads  as  follows: 

"Optime  etiam  de  universa  Philosophia  infirmiorem  sexum  meru- 
isse  nullus  infirmabitur ;  nam  prseter  septuaginta  fere  eruditissimas, 
Mulieres,  quas  recenset  Menagius,  complures  alias  quovis  tempore 
floruisse  novimus,  quge  in  philosophicis  disciplinis  maximam  ingenii 
laudem  sunt  assecutae.  Ad  omnem  igitur  doctrinam,  eruditionemque 
etiam  muliebres  animos  Natura  comparavit:  quare  paulo  injuriosius 
cum  feminis  agunt  qui  eis  bonarum  artium  cultu  omnino  interdicunt, 
eo  vel  maxime,  quod  hasc  illarum  studia  privatis,  publicisque  rebus 
non  modo  haud  noxia  f utura  sint  verum  etiam  perutilia. ' ' 

This  admirable  work,  with  its  one  hundred  and  ninety-one  propo- 
sitions, is  commended  to  those  who  may  have  any  doubt  regarding  the 
learning  or  capacity  of  the  Italian  women  who  have  been  referred  to 
in  the  preceding  pages. 


CHAPTER   II 

WOMAN'S    CAPACITY    FOR    SCIENTIFIC   PURSUITS 

In  a  curious  old  black-letter  volume  entitled  The  Boke  of 
the  Cyte  of  Ladyes,  published  in  England  in  1521  by 
Henry  Pepwell,  occurs  the  following  passage:  "I  mer- 
vayle  gretely  of  the  opynyon  of  some  men  that  say  they 
wolde  in  no  wyse  that  theyr  daughters  or  wyves  or  kynnes- 
women  sholde  lerne  scyences,  and  that  it  sholde  apayre 
theyr  codycyons.  This  thing  is  not  to  say  ne  to  sustayne. 
That  the  woman  apayreth  by  conynge  it  is  not  well  to 
beleve.  As  the  proverb  saythe,  'that  nature  gyveth  may 
not  be  taken  away.'  " 

The  book  from  which  this  remarkable  quotation  is  taken 
is  a  translation  of  Christine  de  Pisan  's  La  Cite  des  Dames, 
which  was  written  early  in  the  fifteenth  century.  It  is  a 
capital  defence  against  the  slanderers  of  the  gentler  sex 
and  an  armory  of  arguments  for  all  time  against  those 
men  who  declare  that  "women  are  fit  for  nothing  but  to 
bear  children  and  spin.',  It  shows  conclusively  that 
conynge — knowledge — far  from  tending  to  injure  women's 
character — apayre  theyr  condycyons — as  was  asserted  by 
Christine's  antagonists,  contributes,  on  the  contrary,  to 
elevate  and  ennoble  them  and  to  render  them  better  mothers 
and  more  useful  members  of  society. 

Notwithstanding  that  it  was  written  five  hundred  years 
ago,  and  notwithstanding  its  "antiquated  allegorical  dress 
and  its  quaint  pre-Renaissance  notions  of  history,"  it  is 
in  many  of  its  aspects  a  surprisingly  modern  production. 
The  line  of  argument  adopted  by  the  writer  is  virtually  the 

106 


CAPACITY    FOR    SCIENTIFIC    PURSUITS    107 

same  as  that  which  is  adopted  to-day  in  the  discussion  of 
the  same  questions  which  are  so  ably  treated  in  this  long- 
forgotten  book1  and  show  that  Christine  de  Pisan  was  in 
every  way  a  worthy  champion  of  her  sex. 

No  woman  of  her  time  was  more  competent  to  discuss 
the  capacity  of  her  sex  for  science  as  well  as  for  other 
intellectual  pursuits  than  was  this  learned  daughter  of 
Italy.  She  was  not  only  a  woman  of  profound  and  varied 
knowledge,  but  was  also,  as  stated  in  the  preceding  chap- 
ter, the  first  woman  to  earn  her  living  by  her  pen.  Be- 
sides writing  The  City  of  Ladies  and  more  verses — mostly 
ballads  and  virelays — than  are  contained  in  the  Divina 
Commedia,  she  was  also  the  author  of  many  other  works 
on  the  most  diverse  subjects.  She  is  best  known  to  his- 
torians as  the  author  of  Livre  des  Fais  et  Bonnes  Meurs 
du  sage  Roy  Charles  V,  which  is  a  graphic  account  of  the 
court  and  policy  of  this  monarch,  and  of  the  Livre  des 
Faits  d'Armes  et  de  Chevalerie.  The  latter  work  is  not, 
as  might  be  imagined  from  its  title,  a  collection  of  tales  of 
chivalry,  but,  incredible  as  it  may  seem,  a  profound  and 
systematic  treatise  on  military  tactics  and  international 
law.  It  deals  with  ''many  topics  of  the  highest  policy, 
from  the  manners  of  a  good  general  and  the  minutiae  of 
siege  operations  to  the  wager  of  battle,  safe-conducts  and 
letters  of  marque,"  and  was  deemed  so  important  by 
Henry  VII  that  at  his  expressed  desire  it  was  translated 
into  English  and  published  by  Caxton  under  the  title  of 
The  Boke  of  Fayettes  of  Armes  and  Chyvalrye.    Even  so 

iAn  edition  of  this  work,  based  on  an  old  manuscript  in  La 
Bibliotheque  Nationale  of  Paris,  in  French,  is  announced  to  appear 
in  France  at  an  early  date.  An  interesting  account  of  this  precious 
volume  has  recently  been  published  by  Mile.  Mathilde  Laigle,  Ph.  D., 
under  the  title  of  Le  Livre  de  Trois  Vertus  de  Christine  de  Pisan  et 
son  Milieu  Eistorique  et  Litteraire.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  some 
enterprising  English  publisher  will  soon  favor  us  with  a  reprint  of 
the  quaint  old,  but  none  the  less  valuable,  volume;  The  Boke  of  the 
Cyte  of  Ladyes. 


108  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

late  as  the  time  of  Henry  VIII  it  was  regarded  as  an 
authoritative  manual  on  the  topics  treated. 

So  great,  indeed,  was  the  extent  and  variety  of  Chris- 
tine's attainments,  so  thoroughly  had  she  studied  the  Latin 
and  Greek  authors,  sacred  and  profane,  and  so  profound 
was  her  knowledge  of  all  the  subjects  which  she  dealt  with 
in  her  numerous  books  that  ' '  one  cannot  but  feel  a  certain 
astonishment  when  one  finds  in  a  woman  in  the  fourteenth 
century  an  erudition  such  as  is  hardly  possessed  by  the 
most  laborious  of  men.'' 

When  we  read  the  eloquent  plea  which  this  learned 
woman  of  five  centuries  ago  makes  in  behalf  of  her  sex, 
when  we  note  the  examples  she  quotes  of  women  ' '  illuminec 
of  great  sciences/ '  and  consider  the  arguments  by  which 
she  demonstrated  the  capacity  of  women  for  all  scientific 
pursuits,  we  can  easily  fancy  that  we  are  reading  the  brief 
of  some  modern  exponent  of  the  woman's  rights  movement 
and  are  almost  disposed  to  believe  that  La  Bruyiere  was 
right  when  he  declared,  Les  anciens  ont  tout  dit.  For  so 
cogent  is  Christine's  reasoning  and  so  thoroughly  does  she 
traverse  her  subject  from  every  point  of  view  that  she 
has  left  later  writers  little  to  add  to  the  controversy  except 
matters  of  detail  which  were  not  available  in  her  time. 

In  spite,  however,  of  Christine's  Cyte  of  Ladyes,  "in 
which,"  according  to  our  mediaeval  paragon,  "women, 
hitherto  scattered  and  defenceless,  were  forever  to  fine 
refuge  against  all  their  slanderers,"  in  spite  of  the  fact 
that  the  foundations  of  this  city  were  laid  by  Reason, 
that  its  walls  and  cloisters  were  built  on  Righteousness,  anc 
its  battlements  and  high  towers  on  Justice,  in  spite  of  th< 
fact  that  the  material  entering  into  its  construction  was 
"stronger  and  more  durable  than  any  marble,"  and  that 
it  was,  as  our  author  declares,  "a  city  right  fair,  without 
fear  and  of  perpetual  during  to  the  world — a  city  that 
should  never  be  brought  to  nought,"  Christine's  work  was 
soon  lost  sight  of,  and  the  right  of  women  to  the  same  in- 


CAPACITY    FOR    SCIENTIFIC    PURSUITS    109 

fcellectual  advantages  as  men  was  as  strongly  denied  as  it 
had  been  before  she  had  so  valiantly  championed  their 
gause,  and  denied,  too,  on  the  assumed  ground  of  their 
innate  incapacity. 

It  mattered  not  that  during  the  succeeding  centuries 
other  women  took  up  the  cause  for  which  the  author  of 
La  Cite  des  Dames  had  so  nobly  battled;  it  mattered  not 
that  countless  women  in  every  civilized  country  of  the 
»lobe  distinguished  themselves  by  their  achievements  in 
3very  department  of  science  and  gave  evidence  of  talent 
and  genius  of  the  highest  order ;  it  mattered  not  that  chiv- 
alrous representatives  of  the  sterner  sex,  like  John  Stuart 
Mill,  came  forward  to  plead  the  case  of  that  half  of  human- 
ity which  had  so  long  been  held  in  cruel  subjection.  The 
attitude  of  the  world  toward  the  intellectually  disfran- 
3hised  sex  remained  unchanged  almost  until  our  own  time. 

But,  although  women  now  enjoy  advantages  in  the  pur- 
suit of  science  which  were  undreamed  of  only  a  generation 
ago,  the  age-old  prejudices  respecting  woman's  mental 
powers  and  her  capacity  for  the  more  abstract  branches  of 
science  still  prevail.  It  is  useless  to  cite  instances  of 
women  who  have  attained  eminence  in  astronomy,  mathe- 
matics, archaeology,  or  in  any  other  science  whatever.  Such 
instances,  we  are  assured,  are  only  exceptions  and  prove 
nothing.  Men  like  Lombroso  are  willing  to  admit  the 
existence  of  an  occasional  woman  of  talent,  but  they  deny 
the  existence  of  genius  in  one  who  is  truly  a  womanly 
woman.1  For,  with  Goncourt,  they  flippantly  assert,  II  n'y 
i  pas  de  femmes  de  genie:  lorsqu'elles  sont  des  genies, 
dies  sont  des  hommes — there  are  no  women  of  genius; 
when  they  have  genius  they  are  men. 

The  reasons  that  now  influence  men  for  affirming  the 
intellectual  disparity  of  the  sexes  are,  it  must  be  observed, 

1  Quando  la  genialita  compare  nella  donna  e  sempre  associata  a 
grandi  anomalie:  e  la  piu  grande  e  la  somiglianza  coi  maschi — la 
virilita.     L'Uomo  di  Genio,  sesta  edizione,  p.  261,  Torino,  1894. 


110  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

quite  different  from  what  they  were  in  the  time  of  Chris- 
tine de  Pisan — quite  different  from  what  they  were  half 
a  century  ago.  Our  forebears,  in  their  endless  disputa- 
tions regarding  woman's  mental  inferiority,  based  their 
arguments  on  a  priori  deductions,  or  on  metaphysical  con- 
siderations which  proved  nothing  and  which  were  often 
irrelevant,  if  not  absurd. 

Thus  the  Aristotelians,  accepting  as  true  the  doctrine  of 
the  four  elements  as  well  as  the  superimposed  doctrine  of 
the  four  elemental  qualities,  sought  to  explain  the  proper- 
ties of  all  compound  bodies  by  these  primal  qualities.  In 
this  way  they  explained  the  various  virtues  of  drugs  and 
medicines.  And  by  the  same  process  of  reasoning  they 
explained  the  assumed  difference  between  male  and  female 
brains.  They  assumed,  to  begin  with,  that  there  was  a 
difference  between  the  intellectual  capacities  of  men  and 
women.  They  then  assumed  that  this  difference  in  capacity 
was  due  to  the  difference  in  character  and  texture  of  the 
female  as  compared  with  those  of  the  male  brain.  They 
next  further  assumed  that  the  doctrines  of  the  four  ele- 
ments and  of  the  four  elemental  qualities  were  established 
beyond  question,  and  then  assumed  again  that  the  reason 
of  woman's  inferior  capacity  was  due  to  the  fact  that  her 
brain  was  moister  and  softer,  and,  therefore,  more  impres- 
sionable than  that  of  man.  No  wonder  that  the  old  Span- 
ish Benedictine,  Benito  Jeronimo  Feijoo,  in  his  chivalrous 
Defensa  de  la  Mujer,  lost  all  patience  with  such  fantastic 
theorizers  and  wrote:  "Did  I  write  ...  to  display  my 
wit,  I  could  easily,  by  deducting  a  chain  of  consequences 
from  received  principles,  shew  that  man's  understanding, 
weighed  in  the  balance  with  female  capacity,  would  be 
found  so  light  as  to  kick  the  beam. ' n 

Abandoning  the  Aristotelian  method  of  envisaging  the 
question  under  discussion,  our  modern  philosophers  have 

i  An  Esscfe  on  the  Learning,  Genius  and  Abilities  of  the  Fair 
Sex,  Proving  Them  Not  Inferior  to  Man,  p.  142,  London,  1774. 


CAPACITY    FOR    SCIENTIFIC    PURSUITS    111 

recourse  to  the  recent  sciences  of  biology  and  psycho-physi- 
ology to  prove  what  they,  too,  assume  to  be  true — viz., 
woman's  incurable  mental  weakness.  Like  their  predeces- 
sors, they  are  dominated  by  passion,  prejudice,  the  errors 
of  countless  centuries,  and,  like  them,  they  approach  the 
subject  on  which  they  are  to  pronounce  judgment,  with 
minds  warped  by  long  ages  of  imperious  instincts,  ignorant 
preconceptions  and  social  bias.  They  will  quote  the  opin- 
ions of  Proudhon  and  Schopenhauer — as  if  they  had  the 
value  of  mathematical  demonstrations — on  the  mental  in- 
feriority of  women,  and  will  declare  with  unblushing  as- 
surance that  no  woman  has  ever  produced  a  single  work  of 
any  kind  of  enduring  worth.  With  the  German  pessimist, 
they  will  blatantly  declare,  taken  as  a  whole,  "  women  are 
and  remain  thoroughgoing  Philistines  and  quite  incur- 
able."1 With  the  French  socialist  they  will  assert,  as  if 
it  were  an  axiomatic  truth,  that  "  thought  in  every  living 
being  is  proportional  to  force' ' — that  "physical  force  is 
not  less  necessary  for  thought  than  for  muscular  labor. ' ' 

They  have  apparently  no  more  doubt  respecting  the 
truth  of  these  assumptions  than  had  their  predecessors, 
the  Aristotelians,  respecting  their  assumptions  of  the  four 
elements  and  their  first  qualities.  Their  process  of  reason- 
ing is  somewhat  as  follows:  "Woman  is  smaller  and 
weaker  than  man.  This  is  a  matter  of  simple  observation, 
confirmed  by  the  teachings  of  physiology.  Therefore, 
woman  is  physically  and  intellectually  inferior  to  man. 
Therefore  she  is  incapable  of  any  of  those  great  concep- 
tions and  achievements  in  science  or  philosophy  which  have 
so  distinguished  the  male  sex  in  every  age  of  the  world's 
history.  That  she  is  thus  weaker  and  inferior  physically 
and  intellectually  and  forever  incapacitated  from  success- 
fully competing  with  man  in  the  intellectual  arena  is  a 
fatality  for  which,  we  are  gravely  told,  there  i^io  remedy, 

i  Schopenhauer,  Studies  in  Pessimism,  p.  115,  London,  1891. 


112  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

and  to  which  women,  consequently,  must  resign  themselves 
as  to  one  of  the  inexorable  laws  of  nature. ' ' 

It  would  be  difficult  to  cite  a  more  preposterous  example 
of  ratiocination.  If  it  were  true  that  there  is  a  necessary- 
relation  between  vigor  of  body  and  vigor  of  mind;  that 
mental  power  is  proportional  to  physical  power;  that 
thought  is  but  a  special  form  of  energy  and  capable  of 
transformation,  like  heat,  light  and  electricity;  that  it, 
like  the  various  physical  forces,  has  its  chemical  and  me- 
chanical equivalents;  that  psychic  work  corresponds  to  a! 
certain  amount  of  chemical  or  thermic  action;  that  in- 
tellectual capacity  in  man  is  proportional  to  muscular 
strength ;  it  would  follow  that  the  great  leaders  of  thought 
and  action  through  the  ages  have  been  Goliaths  in  stature 
and  Herculeses  in  strength.  But  so  far  is  this  conclusion 
from  being  warranted  that  it  is  almost  the  reverse  of  the 
truth.  For  many,  if  not  the  majority,  of  the  great  geniuses 
of  the  world  in  every  age  have  been  either  men  of  small 
frame  or  men  of  delicate  and  precarious  health. 

Among  the  men  of  genius  who  were  noted  for  their 
diminutive  stature  were  Plato,  Aristotle,  Alexander  th( 
Great,  Archimedes,  Epicurus,  Horace,  Albertus  Magnus 
Montaigne,  Lipsius,  Spinoza,  Erasmus,  Lalande,  Charh 
Lamb,  Keats,  Balzac  and  Thiers.  Many  others  were 
markable  for  their  spare  form.  Among  these  in  the  prime 
of  life  were  Aristotle,  Demosthenes,  Cicero,  St.  Paul,  Kep 
ler,  Pascal,  Boileau,  Fenelon,  D'Alembert,  Napoleon,  Lin 
coin  and  Leo  XIII.  Others,  like  iEsop,  Brunelleschi 
Leopardi,  Magliabecchi,  Parini,  Scarron,  Talleyrand,  Pope 
Goldsmith,  Byron,  Sir  Walter  Scott,  to  mention  only 
few  of  the  most  eminent,  were  either  hunchbacked,  lame 
rachitic  or  clubfooted. 

Others,  still,  were  the  victims  of  chronic  ill  health,  oi 
of  nervous  disorders  of  the  most  serious  character.  Virgi 
was  of  a  delicate  and  frail  constitution.  He  essayed  th< 
bar,  but  shrank  from  it  and  turned  to  the  '  *  contemplatio] 


CAPACITY    FOR    SCIENTIFIC    PURSUITS    113 

of  diviner  things."  Nor  was  Horace,  though  less  com- 
pletely a  recluse  and  more  of  a  bon  vivant,  a  strong  man. 
Both  of  them,  as  scholars  will  remember,  sought  the  couch, 
while  Maecenas  went  off  to  the  tennis  court.  Pope's  life, 
says  Johnson,  was  a  long  disease.  Johnson  himself,  though 
large  and  muscular,  had  queer  health  and  a  tormenting 
constitution.  Schiller  wrote  most  of  his  best  work  while 
struggling  against  a  painful  malady,  and  Heine's  "mat- 
tress grave' '  is  proverbial.  France  furnishes  an  excellent 
example  in  Pascal.1    ' 

Some  of  the  most  noted  leaders  of  thought  in  our  own 
era  were  likewise  chronic  invalids.  Among  these  were  the 
scholarly  theologian,  E.  B.  Pusey,  and  J.  A.  Symonds,  the 
historian  of  the  Renaissance.  There  was  also  Herbert  Spen- 
cer, who  was  frequently  forced  by  nervous  breakdowns  to 
take  long  periods  of  absolute  rest.  More  remarkable  still 
was  the  case  of  the  famous  naturalist,  Charles  Darwin.  ' '  It 
is,"  writes  his  son,  "a  principal  feature  of  his  life  that  for 
nearly  forty  years  he  never  knew  one  day  of  the  health 
of  ordinary  men,  and  that  thus  his  life  was  one  long 
struggle  against  the  weariness  and  the  strain  of  sickness. ' ,2 
But,  notwithstanding  his  continued  ill  health  and  the  spinal 
anemia  from  which  he  suffered,  he  was  able  to  conduct 
those  epoch-making  researches  which  put  him  in  the  fore- 
front of  men  of  science,  and  to  write  those  famous  books 
which  have  completely  revolutionized  our  views  of  nature 
and  nature 's  laws. 

But  a  still  more  remarkable  illustration  of  the  fact  that 
there  is  no  necessary  relation  between  muscular  and  mental 
power,  between  physical  wellbeing  and  intellectual  energy, 
is  afforded  by  the  illustrious  discoverer  of  the  world  of  the 
infinitely  little,  Louis  Pasteur.     Stricken  by  hemiplegia 

1  The  Literary  Advantages  of  Weak  Health,  in  the  Spectator  for 
October,  1894. 

2  The  Life  and  Letters  of  Charles  Darwin,  edited  by  his  son, 
Francis  Darwin,  Vol.  I,  p.  136,  New  York,  1888. 


114  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

shortly  after  he  had  begun  those  brilliant  investigations 
which  have  rendered  him  immortal,  he  remained  affected 
by  partial  paralysis  until  the  end  of  his  life.  His  friends 
had  reason  to  fear  that  this  attack,  even  if  he  should  sur-j 
vive  it,  would  weaken  or  extinguish  his  spirit  of  initiative, 
if  it  did  not  make  further  work  entirely  impossible.  But 
this  was  far  from  the  case.  For  a  quarter  of  a  century  he 
continued  with  unabated  activity  those  marvelous  labors 
which  are  forever  associated  with  his  name.  And  it  was 
after,  not  before,  his  misfortune  that  he  made  his  most 
famous  discoveries  in  the  domain  of  microbian  life,  and 
placed  in  the  hands  of  physicians  and  surgeons  those  in- 
fallible means  of  combatting  disease  which  have  made  him 
one  of  the  greatest  benefactors  of  suffering  humanity.  The 
complete  separation  of  the  intellectual  from  the  motor 
faculties  was  never  more  clearly  exhibited  than  in  this  case, 
nor  was  it  ever  more  completely  demonstrated  by  an  ex~i 
periment,  whose  validity  no  one  could  question,  that  power 
of  mind  does  not  necessarily  depend  on  strength  or  health 
of  body.  It  proved,  also,  in  the  most  telling  manner  that 
it  is  not  muscular  but  psychic  force  which  avails  most,v 
whether  to  the  individual  or  to  society.  And  it  showed,  at? 
the  same  time,  the  utter  absurdity  of  those  theories  which 
would  fatally  connect  intellectual  with  physical  debility  in 
woman,  and  would  forever  adjudge  the  physically  weaker 
sex  to  be  of  hopeless  inferiority  in  all  things  of  the  mind. 
What  has  been  said  of  men  achieving  renown,  notwith-* 
standing  ill  health,  may  likewise  be  affirmed  of  women. 
The  case  of  Elizabeth  Barrett  Browning  is  scarcely  less 
remarkable  than  that  of  Darwin.  In  spite  of  being  a 
chronic  invalid  the  greater  part  of  her  life,  she  attained  a 
position  in  letters  reached  by  but  few  of  her  contempo- 
raries. The  same  almost  may  be  said  of  the  three  Bronte 
sisters.  The  deadly  seeds  of  consumption  were  sown  in 
their  systems  in  early  youth,  but,  although  fully  aware  that 
life  had  " passed  them  by  with  averted  head,"  they  were, 


CAPACITY    FOR    SCIENTIFIC    PURSUITS    115 

through  their  indomitable  wills,  able  to  send  forth  from 
their  bleak  home  in  the  wild  Yorkshire  moors  works  of 
genius  that  still  instruct  and  delight  the  world. 

From  the  foregoing  it  is  clear  that  valetudinarianism,  if 
it  prove  anything,  proves  not  that  it  renders  intellectual 
effort  impossible,  but  that  it  serves  as  a  discipline  for  the 
soul.  It  forces  the  mind  to  husband  its  strength,  and  thus 
enables  it  to  accomplish  by  economy  and  concentration  of 
effort  that  which  the  same  mind  in  a  healthy  body,  with  the 
distractions  of  society  and  the  allurements  of  life,  would 
be  unable  to  accomplish.  It  exemplifies  in  the  most  strik- 
ing manner  the  truth  of  what  Socrates  says  in  Plato's  Re- 
public about  the  beneficent  action  of  the  "bridle  of 
Theages,"  preventing  an  infirm  friend  of  his  from  em- 
bracing politics  and  keeping  him  true  to  his  first  love — 
philosophy. 

Failing  to  show  any  necessary  connection  between  supe- 
rior physique  and  intellectual  capacity,  between  health  of 
body  and  mental  activity,  between  the  amount  of  food 
consumed  and  the  degree  of  intelligence,  the  class  of  think- 
ers whose  theories  are  now  under  consideration  found  them- 
selves forced  to  abandon  the  argument  based  on  robust 
health  and  physical  strength  and  seek  elsewhere  for  sup- 
port of  their  views.  This,  they  soon  announced,  was  found 
in  the  greater  cranial  capacity  and  greater  brain  weight  of 
the  male  as  compared  with  that  of  the  female.  Following 
up  this  fancied  clew,  anthropologists  the  world  over  be- 
gan measuring  skulls  and  weighing  brains  in  order  to  de- 
termine the  supposed  ratio  of  sex-difference. 

The  results  of  these  investigations  were  far  from  cor- 
roborating the  preconceived  notions  of  those  who  had  fan- 
cied a  necessary  correlation  between  mental  capacity  and 
size  of  cranium,  between  the  weight  of  encephalon  and  de- 
gree of  intelligence.  For  it  was  soon  discovered  that  cran- 
ial capacity  depended  on  many  causes — many  of  them  un- 
known— and  that  people  having  the  largest  skulls  were 


116  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

often  far  from  being  the  ones  dowered  with  the  greatest 
intellectual  power.  It  was  found,  for  instance,  that  cli- 
mate was  a  determining  factor — that  the  inhabitants  of 
northern  regions  have  larger  heads  than  those  who  live 
farther  south.  Thus  the  Lapps,  in  proportion  to  their 
stature,  have  the  largest  heads  in  Europe.  After  these 
come  in  order  the  Scandinavians,  the  Germans,  the  French, 
the  Italians,  the  Arabs. 

It  was  found  also  that  the  least  cranial  capacity  of  the 
ancient  Egyptians  coincides  with  the  most  brilliant  period 
of  their  civilization — that  of  the  eighteenth  dynasty.  Meas- 
urements of  skulls  unearthed  at  Pompeii  showed  that  the 
heads  of  the  Komans  who  lived  two  thousand  years  ago 
were  larger  than  the  heads  of  the  Romans  of  to-day. 
Similarly,  the  skulls  of  the  lake-dwellers  of  Switzerland 
were  larger  than  those  of  the  Swiss  people  of  the  present 
time,  while  the  average  circumference  of  the  skulls  meas- 
ured in  the  catacombs  of  Paris  is  more  than  an  inch  greater 
than  that  of  the  Parisians  who  have  died  during  the  last 
half  century.  The  circumference  of  the  skulls  of  a  large 
number  of  mound-builders,  excavated  some  years  ago  near 
Carrollton,  Illinois,  exceeded  that  of  the  average  head  of 
white  men  in  New  York  of  our  day  by  nearly  three  inches. 
This  shows  that  the  culture  of  the  white  race  during  long 
centuries  has  not  developed  its  cranial  capacity  to  equal 
that  of  the  uncultured  Indians  who  flourished  in  the  Mis- 
sissippi valley  untold  generations  ago. 

The  skulls  of  Quaternary  men  were  likewise  very  volu- 
minous, although  they  belonged  to  a  race  whose  mental 
manifestations  were  infantile  in  the  extreme.  Even  the 
celebrated  Engis  skull,  one  of  the  most  ancient  in  existence, 
has  been  described  by  the  late  Professor  Huxley  as  well 
formed  and  considerably  larger  than  the  average  of  the 
European  skulls  of  to-day,  not  only  in  the  width  and 
height  of  the  forehead,  but  also  in  the  cubic  capacity  of 
the  whole.    Furthermore,  the  eminent  craniologist,  Broca, 


CAPACITY    FOR    SCIENTIFIC    PURSUITS    117 

has  proved  that  the  illiterate  peasants  of  Auvergne  have  a 
much  greater  cranial  capacity  than  that  of  the  learned  and 
cultured  denizens  of  Paris.  And,  as  if  to  show  conclusively 
that  there  is  no  necessary  connection  between  intellectual 
capacity  and  size  of  cranium,  authentic  measurements  dis- 
close the  fact  that  some  of  the  most  gifted  men  the  world 
has  known  had  small  heads.  Among  these  were  Dante  and 
Voltaire.  The  skull  of  the  latter  is  one  of  the  smallest 
which  has  thus  far  been  observed. 

What  has  been  said  regarding  the  relation  of  cranial 
volume  to  intellectual  capacity,  as  revealed  by  the  measure- 
ments of  the  skulls  of  ancient  and  modern,  savage  and 
civilized  peoples  may  likewise  be  predicated  of  the  dif- 
ferences in  the  sizes  of  the  crania  of  men  and  women.  No 
argument  as  to  the  greater  or  less  intelligence  of  either 
sex  can  be  based  on  mere  craniometric  determinations.  '  *  At 
the  best,  cranial  capacity  is  but  a  rough  indication  of  brain 
size;  and  to  measure  brain  size  by  the  external  size  of  the 
skull  furnishes  still  rougher  and  more  fallacious  approxi- 
mations, since  the  male  skull  is  more  massive  than  the 
female. ' ' 

Even  the  slight  morphological  differences  between  male 
and  female  skulls — some  anthropologists  deny  that  there 
are  any  at  all — afford  no  more  ground  for  conclusions  in 
favor  of  the  superiority  of  one  or  the  other  sex  than  the 
relative  differences  in  size.  Such  trifling  differences  as  do 
exist  exhibit,  as  Virchow  has  pointed  out,  an  approxima- 
tion of  men  to  the  savage,  simian  and  senile  type,  and  an 
approach  of  women  to  the  infantile  type.  Havelock  Ellis, 
commenting  on  this  difference,  pertinently  remarks,  "It  is 
open  to  a  man  in  a  Pharisaic  mood  to  thank  God  that  his 
cranial  type  is  far  removed  from  the  infantile.  It  is 
equally  open  to  woman  in  such  a  mood  to  be  thankful  that 
her  cranial  type  does  not  approach  the  senile. '  ** 

But  much  stress  as  has  been  laid  on  physical  power, 

i  Man  and  Woman,  p.  94,  London,  1898. 


118  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

health  and  cranial  capacity,  as  determining  factors  of  in- 
tellectual capacity  and  sexual  differences,  far  greater  stress 
has  been  laid  on  conclusions  deducible  from  the  relative 
brain  weights  of  different  classes  of  people  as  well  as  of 
different  sexes.  It  was  assumed  that  by  a  critical  study 
of  the  brain,  by  careful  weighings  of  many  brains  of  both 
sexes  and  of  many  races,  it  would  be  easy  to  secure  con- 
clusive evidence  that  the  size  and  weight  of  the  brain  in- 
crease with  the  amount  of  intelligence  of  the  individual. 
It  was  also  assumed  that  function  not  only  makes  the  or- 
gan, but  also  develops  it.  Brain  became  synonymous  with 
mind.  A  large  brain  implied  vigor  of  thought;  a  small 
brain  was  evidence  of  mental  inferiority. 

Physiology  had  demonstrated  unquestionably  that  the 
muscles  of  the  body  are  enlarged  by  exercise.  It  was 
assumed  by  those  who  are  wont  to  measure  mind  in  terms 
of  matter  that  the  brain,  being  the  organ  of  thought,  was 
also  developed  by  exercise.  It  was  also  assumed  that  the 
development  of  the  brain  was  in  a  direct  ratio  to  its  activ- 
ity. The  greater  its  activity  the  greater  its  mass,  and  the 
greater  the  mass  the  greater  the  degree  of  intelligence.  In 
other  words,  it  was  assumed  that  there  was  an  exact  and 
invariable  proportion  between  weight  of  brain  and  amount 
of  brain  power. 

None  of  the  theories  which  have  already  been  adverted  to 
have  been  so  full  of  assumptions  and  prejudices  or  vitiated 
by  so  many  fallacies  and  over-hasty  generalizations  as  this. 
No  subject  has  possessed  a  greater  fascination  for  anthro- 
pologists, and  no  subject  has  been  prolific  in  more  diverse 
and  conflicting  conclusions.  Many  men  of  science  who,  in 
other  matters,  were  noted  for  their  care  in  weighing  evi- 
dence, before  formulating  theories,  completely  lost  the  sci- 
entific spirit  when  they  began  to  weigh  brains  and  to  draw 
conclusions  respecting  the  relations  of  brain  weight  and 
mental  power,  and  to  establish  ratios  between  the  charac- 


CAPACITY    FOR    SCIENTIFIC    PURSUITS    119 

ter  of  the  convolutions  of  the  organ  of  thought  and  the 
degree  of  intelligence  of  its  possessor. 

Contrary  to  what  is  generally  believed,  a  large  brain  is 
not  always  an  indication  of  superior  capacity  or  intelli- 
gence. There  have  been,  it  is  true,  a  number  of  men  of 
genius  who  were  the  possessors  of  large  brains,  but  there 
have  also  been  others  whose  brains  were  of  but  medium 
weight. 

The  largest  known  brains  of  intellectual  workers  were 
those  of  Cuvier,  the  noted  zoologist,  and  Turgenieff,  the 
distinguished  novelist.  The  brain  of  the  Frenchman 
weighed  1830  grams,  while  that  of  the  Russian  totaled  2012 
grams.  Among  other  large  brains — even  larger  than  Cu- 
vier's — were  those  of  a  bricklayer,  which  weighed  1900 
grams,  and  of  an  ordinary  laborer,  which  reached  1924 
grams.  The  largest  brains  on  record  were  that  of  an  igno- 
rant laborer  named  Rustan,  which  weighed  2222  grams; 
that  of  a  weak-minded  London  newsboy,  which  weighed 
2268  grams,  and  that  of  a  twenty-one-year-old  epileptic 
idiot,  which  had  the  unheard  of  weight  of  2850  grams.1 

The  seven  largest  recorded  female  brains  were  three 
weighing  1580  grams  each,  one  of  which  belonged  to  a 
medical  student  of  marked  ability,  while  the  other  two 
belonged  to  quite  undistinguished  women.  There  were  two 
others  weighing  1587  each,  one  of  which  belonged  to  an 
insane  woman.  Still  heavier  than  these  by  far  were  the 
brains  of  an  insane  woman  who  died  of  consumption,  and 
of  a  dwarfed  Indian  squaw.  The  brain  of  the  first  weighed 
1742  grams;  while  that  of  the  second  was  no  less  than 
2084  grams. 

From  the  foregoing  examples  it  is  evident  that  a  large 
brain  is  far  from  being  a  certain  index  of  mental  capacity 
or  of  superior  intelligence.     It  is  frequently  the  very  re- 

1  Cf .  Das  Hirngewicht  des  Menschen,  pp.  21  and  137,  by  Theodor  L. 
W.  von  Bischoff,  Bonn,  1880,  and  Dr.  G.  van  Walsem  in  Neurolo- 
gisches  Centralblatt,  pp.  578-580,  Leipsic,  July  1,  1899. 


ISO  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

verse.  If,  for  instance,  it  fail  to  receive  the  necessary 
supply  of  blood,  it  will  be  inert  or  disordered  and  will 
prove  to  be  a  dangerous  possession  rather  than  a  precious 
endowment.  Epileptics  usually  have  brains  that  are  large 
relatively  to  the  size  of  the  body.  And,  while  it  is  probably 
true  that  the  great  thinkers  and  men  of  action  of  the  world 
have,  in  most  instances,  had  comparatively  large  brains,  it 
is  also  true  that  the  brain  weights  of  but  few  of  them  ex- 
ceeded 1500  grams,  while  those  of  many  fall  below  1200 
grams. 

Thus  the  brain  of  Gambetta,  "the  foremost  Frenchman 
of  his  time,"  weighed  only  1159  grams,  while  the  weight 
of  the  brain  of  Napoleon  I  was  1502  grams — barely  equal 
to  that  of  a  negro  described  by  the  anthropologist  Broca, 
and  but  little  superior  to  that  of  a  Hottentot  mentioned 
by  Dr.  Jeffries  Wyman.1 

The  late  Dr.  Joseph  Simms  found  the  average  brain 
weight  of  sixty  persons  who  were  either  imbeciles,  idiots, 
criminals  or  men  of  ordinary  mind  to  be  1792  grams,  while 
that  of  sixty  famous  men  was  1454  grams,  a  difference  in 
favor  of  men  not  noted  for  intellectual  greatness  of  338 
grams.  These  figures  are  far  from  showing  that  large 
brains  are  a  necessary  concomitant  of  mental  capacity. 

In  view  of  these  and  many  similar  facts,  we  are  not 
surprised  that  the  eminent  German  anatomist  and  anthro- 
pologist, Rudolph  Wagner,  should  declare  that  ' '  very  intel- 
ligent men  do  not  differ  strikingly  in  brain  weight  from 
less  gifted  men,"  and  that  the  noted  French  physician, 
Esquirol,  should  assert  that  "no  size  or  form  of  head  or 
brain  is  incident  to  idiocy  or  superior  talent." 

So  far  as  civilized  races  are  concerned,  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  the  absolute  weight  of  the  male  is  greater  than 
that  of  the  female  brain.  According  to  the  investigations 
of  seven  of  the  most  notable  anthropologists,  who  have 
given  special  attention  to  the  subject  under  consideration, 

iL' Anthropologic,  pp.  336-337,  by  Paul  Topinard,  Paris,  1876. 


CAPACITY    FOR    SCIENTIFIC    PURSUITS    121 

and  who,  collectively,  have  carefully  weighed  many  thou- 
sands of  brains,  the  average  brain  weight  of  men  in  Europe 
is  1381  grams,  while  that  of  women  is  1237  grams.  This 
shows  a  difference  between  the  average  weight  of  the  brain 
in  man  and  woman  of  144  grams. 

But,  if  it  must  be  conceded  that  the  absolute  weight  of 
man 's  brain  is  greater  than  woman 's,  is  it  likewise  true  that 
the  relative  weight  is  greater?  This  is  a  question  which 
demands  an  answer,  as  it  is  impossible  to  come  to  any 
just  conclusion  respecting  the  intellectual  capacity  of 
woman  expressed  in  terms  of  brain  weight,  unless  we  can 
affirm  with  certainty  that  men's  brains  are  relatively,  as 
well  as  absolutely,  larger  than  those  of  women. 

Speaking  of  the  relative  weight  of  brain  in  man  implies 
a  term  of  comparison.  Several  methods  of  estimating  the 
sexual  proportions  of  brain  mass  have  been  suggested,  but 
only  two  of  them  have  met  with  any  favor.  These  are  de- 
termining the  ratio  of  brain  weight  to  body  weight  or  body 
height. 

According  to  the  investigations  of  anthropologists  of  ac- 
knowledged authority,  the  average  brain  weight  of  woman 
is  to  that  of  man  in  England  and  France  as  90  is  to  100. 
The  average  stature  of  men  and  women  in  the  same  coun- 
tries is  as  93  to  100.  This  gives  man  an  excess  of  brain 
weight  over  that  of  woman  of  something  more  than  an 
ounce.  But  this  slight  difference  in  weight  has  been  con- 
sidered sufficient  to  constitute  it  "a  fundamental  sexual 
distinction. ' '  When,  however,  it  is  considered  that  men 
are  not  only  taller  but  also  larger  than  women,  this  appar- 
ent advantage  of  an  ounce  in  favor  of  the  male  entirely 
disappears,  and  the  result  is  that  the  relative  amount  of 
brain  mass  in  the  two  sexes  is  practically  equal. 

Because  of  the  manifest  inaccuracy  of  the  stature  cri- 
terion, many  eminent  anthropologists  have  prepared  to 
estimate  sexual  differences  in  brain  weight  by  adopting  the 
method  based  on  the  ratio  of  brain  mass  to  body  weight. 


122  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

According  to  this  method,  women  are  found  to  possess 
brains  which  are  equal  to  or  even  somewhat  larger  than 
those  of  men.  If  the  comparative  excess  of  non- vital  tissue 
in  the  form  of  fat  in  woman  be  eliminated  and  estimates  be 
based  only  on  the  active  organic  mass  of  her  body,  as  com- 
pared with  the  same  mass  in  man,  the  excess  of  brain 
weight  in  woman  over  that  in  man  will  be  still  more  marked. 

A  careful  study,  then,  of  the  brain  as  a  whole,  far  from 
proving  woman's  inferiority  to  man,  rather  proves  her 
superiority.  The  same  may  be  said  regarding  sexual  dis- 
tinctions based  on  certain  parts  of  the  brain. 

Some  years  ago  it  was  positively  asserted  that  the  de- 
velopment of  the  frontal  lobe  exhibited  a  pronounced  dif- 
ference in  the  two  sexes.  It  was  said  to  be  much  greater 
in  man  than  in  woman  and  was  regarded  as  a  distinguish- 
ing characteristic  of  the  male  sex.  This  was  in  keeping 
with  the  generally  accepted  assumption  that  this  portion 
of  the  brain  is  the  seat  of  the  higher  intellectual  pro- 
cesses. Further  investigation,  however,  showed  that  there 
was  practically  no  sexual  difference  in  the  frontal  lobe  of 
the  brain,  or,  if  there  was  a  difference,  it  was  probably  in 
favor  of  woman. 

It  has  also  become  recognized  that  there  is  no  valid 
reason  for  considering  the  anterior  portion  of  the  brain  as 
the  seat  of  the  higher  mental  functions.  It  is  possible, 
but  in  the  present  state  of  science  it  can  neither  be  affirmed 
nor  denied.  So  far  as  our  present  knowledge  goes,  it  seems 
more  likely  that  the  whole  of  the  brain,  especially  the 
sensori-motor  regions  of  its  middle  part,  have  a  part  in 
mental  operations.  At  all  events,  it  can  certainly  be 
affirmed  that  Huschke  's  distinction  of  man  and  woman  into 
homo  frontalis  et  homo  parietalis  is  utterly  devoid  of  foun- 
dation in  fact. 

Many  anthropologists  have  fancied  that  a  certain  index 
of  the  degree  of  intelligence  is  to  be  found  in  the  convolu- 
tions of  the  brain.     The  tortuous  foldings  of  the  female 


CAPACITY    FOR    SCIENTIFIC    PURSUITS    123 

brain,  it  is  asserted,  are  less  ample,  less  pronounced  and 
less  beautiful.  " Behold,' '  they  exclaim,  "a  most  positive 
evidence  of  inferiority. ' '  These  men  overlook  the  fact  that 
certain  animals,  notably  the  elephant  and  divers  species  of 
cetaceans,  have  cerebral  convolutions  that  are  more  com- 
plex than  those  of  man.  If,  then,  brain  convolutions  were, 
as  claimed,  a  certain  index  of  the  degree  of  intelligence, 
the  whale  or  the  elephant,  and  not  man — pace  Shakespeare 
—would  be  ''the  paragon  of  animals." 

But  men  of  science  are  by  no  means  at  one  on  this 
alleged  sexual  difference  in  brain  convolutions.  On  the 
3ontrary,  there  are  many  eminent  physiologists  and  anato- 
mists who  contend  that  the  superficies  of  brain  convolu- 
tions in  women  is  relatively  greater  than  in  men.  For 
those  who  believe — and  they  are  probably  the  majority  at 
present — that  the  seat  of  mental  activity  is  in  the  gray 
natter  of  the  brain,  this  greater  brain  surface,  due  to  its 
sonvolutions,  would  be  a  decided  compensation  for  woman 's 
relatively  smaller  brain  volume.1 

In  whatever  way,  then,  we  consider  the  brains  of  men 
ind  women,  whether  we  compare  the  ratio  of  brain  weight 
to  height  of  body  or  to  weight  of  body,  or  compare  the 
relative  amounts  of  gray  matter  in  the  two  sexes,  the 
advantage,  in  spite  of  her  smaller  body,  is  distinctly  in 
Favor  of  woman. 

From  the  preceding  considerations  it  seems  clear  that 
;here  is  no  ground  from  the  point  of  view  of  brain  anat- 
)my  for  considering  one  sex  as  superior  to  the  other.  They 
ivince,  too,  that  quality  as  well  as  quantity  of  brain  tissue 
nust  be  considered  in  all  our  discussions  on  the  relations 

iThe  importance  of  gray  matter  in  mental  processes  has  evi- 
lently  been  greatly  overestimated,  for  it  has  been  found  to  be  thicker 
.n  the  brains  of  negroes,  murderers  and  ignorant  persons  than  it  was 
n  the  encephalon  of  Daniel  Webster.  It  is  also  much  thicker  in  the 
trains  of  dolphins,  porpoises  and  other  cetaceans  than  it  is  in  the 
nost  intellectual  of  men. 


124.  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

between  the  volume  of  brain  and  the  intelligence  of  its 
possessor.  Whales  and  elephants  have  much  larger  brains 
than  men,  but  they  nevertheless  stand  far  below  him  in 
intelligence. 

It  must  be  remembered,  also,  that  the  brain  is  not  only 
an  organ  of  mental  function.  It  is  likewise  the  center  of 
the  entire  nervous  system,  and  its  volume,  therefore,  must 
correspond  with  the  size  and  number  of  nerve  trunks  under 
its  control.  In  man,  as  in  animals,  the  brain  elements  are 
to  a  great  extent  but  sensori-motor  delegates  whose  func- 
tion is  the  regulation  and  government  of  every  part  of  the 
body.  The  superior  size  of  the  whale 's  brain,  as  compared 
with  that  of  man,  can  readily  be  understood  when  we 
reflect  on  the  much  greater  amount  of  territory  which  these 
sensori-motor  delegates  represent.  "When  this  fact  is  borne 
in  mind  it  will  be  found  that  the  whale's  brain,  relatively 
to  that  of  man,  is  extremely  small.  For  while  the  ratio 
of  man's  brain  weight  to  that  of  his  body  is  as  1  to  36, 
the  ratio  of  the  whale's  brain  weight  to  its  immense  body 
is  but  1  to  3,000. 

As  an  evidence  that  quality  often  counts  for  more  than 
quantity,  brain  anatomists  would  do  well  to  reflect  on  the 
marvelous  intelligence  displayed  by  ants  and  termites, 
those  mites  of  animated  nature  which  so  excited  the  admira- 
tion of  the  naturalist  Pliny  and  caused  Darwin  to  declare, 
"The  brain  of  an  ant  is  one  of  the  most  marvelous  atoms 
of  matter  in  the  world,  perhaps  more  so  than  the  brain  of 
man."1 

Moreover,  when  discussing  the  relative  brain  weights  of 
the  two  sexes,  we  must  not  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  we 
have,  with  the  solitary  exception  of  the  eminent  Russian 
mathematician,  Sonya  Kovalevsky,2  no  record  of  the  brain 

i  The  Descent  of  Man,  Vol.  I,  p.  145,  London,  1871. 

2  The  brain  of  Sonya  Kovalevsky  was  not  weighed  until  it  had 
been  four  years  in  alcohol.  Prof.  Gustaf  Retzius  then  wrote  an 
elaborate  account  of  it  and  estimated  that  its  weight,  at  the  time 


CAPACITY    FOR    SCIENTIFIC    PURSUITS    125 

weights  of  any  eminently  intellectual  woman.  The  brains 
of  scores  of  men  of  genius  and  exceptional  mentality  have 
been  weighed,  but  we  are  utterly  ignorant  of  the  weight  of 
brain  of  such  women  as  Maria  Gaetana  Agnesi,  Madame  de 
Stael,  Maria  Theresa,  Sophie  Germain,  George  Sand,  Har- 
riet Martineau,  George  Eliot,  Eleanor  Ormerod,  Mary 
Somerville,  and  others  of  the  same  caliber.  The  only  data 
so  far  available,  regarding  the  average  brain  weight  of 
women,  are  such  as  have  been  obtained  from  the  inmates 
of  hospitals,  prisons  and  pauper  institutions.  And  yet  we 
are  asked  to  accept  the  average  based  on  such  data  as  a 
fair  term  of  comparison  with  the  average  male  brain  weight 
as  increased  by  the  superior  weight  of  brain  of  such  men  as 
Cuvier  and  Turgenieff.    And  this  is  called  science ! * 

The  attempt,  then,  to  prove  by  weighing  and  measuring 
and  studying  brains  that  man  is  the  intellectual  superior 
of  woman  has  been  an  ignominious  failure.  The  old  belief 
that  woman  is  by  nature  and  cerebral  organization  less 

of  Sonya's  death,  was  1385  grams.  The  brain-weight  of  her  illus- 
trious contemporary,  Hermann  von  Helmholtz,  was  1440  grams.  But 
when  the  body-weights  of  these  two  eminent  mathematicians  are  borne 
in  mind — Sonya  was  short  and  slender — it  will  be  seen  that  the  rela- 
tive amount  of  brain  tissue  was  greater  in  the  woman  than  in  the 
man.  Cf.  Das  Gehirn  des  MathematiTcers  Sonja  KovalewsM  m 
Biologische  Untersuchungen,  von  Prof.  Dr.  Gustaf  Retzius,  pp.  1-17, 
Stockholm,  1900. 

i  The  reader  who  desires  more  detailed  information  respecting 
the  brain-weights  of  men  and  women  of  various  races  and  the  rela- 
tion of  brain-weight  to  intelligence  may  consult  with  profit  the  fol- 
lowing works  and  articles:  Memoires  d' Anthropologic  de  Paul  Broca, 
5  Vols.,  Paris,  1871-1888;  Alte  und  Neue  Geliirn  Probleme  nebst  einer 
1078  Falle  umfassenden  Gehirngewichstatistik  aus  den  Kgl.  patho- 
logisch-anatomischen  Institut  zu  Munchen,  von  W.  W.  Wendt,  Miin- 
chen,  1909;  Gehirn gewicht  und  Intelligenz,  by  Dr.  F.  K.  Walter, 
Rostok,  1911 ;  Gehirngewicht  und  Intelligenz,  by  Dr.  J.  Draseke,  Ham- 
burg, in  Archiv  fur  Bassen  und  Gesellschafts  Biologe,  pp.  499-522, 
1906;  Brain  Weights  and  Intellectual  Capacity,  by  Joseph  Simms, 
M.  D.,  in  the  Popular  Science  Monthly,  December,  1898,  and  The 
Growth  of  the  Brain,  by  H.  H.  Donaldson,  London,  1895. 


126  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

intelligent  than  man  is  not  borne  out  by  the  investigations 
of  those  best  qualified  to  pronounce  an  opinion  on  the  sub- 
ject. To  assert,  as  so  many  do,  that  woman  was  created 
man 's  intellectual  inferior  is  begging  the  question.  Science 
can  adduce  no  proof  of  such  a  gratuitous  statement.  Broca, 
the  most  eminent  of  French  anthropologists,  regarded  as 
an  absurdity  the  attempt  to  establish  a  necessary  relation 
between  the  development  of  intelligence  and  the  volume 
and  weight  of  the  encephalon.  With  the  ripe  knowledge 
of  his  mature  years  he  was  inclined  to  believe  that  the  ap- 
parent difference  in  intelligence  in  the  two  sexes  was  owing, 
not  to  a  difference  of  brain  organization,  but  rather  to  a 
difference  of  education,  physical  as  well  as  mental,  and 
that,  with  equal  opportunities  for  intellectual  and  physical 
development,  the  present  sexual  differences  that  we  have 
been  considering — differences  which  are  due  not  to  nature 
but  to  the  long  ages  of  restraint  and  subjection  under  which 
women  have  lived — would  gradually  be  lessened,  and  that 
men  and  women  would  eventually  approach  that  equality 
which  characterizes  them  in  the  state  of  nature.1 

Realizing  the  impossibility  of  arriving,  by  the  study  of 
brain  sizes  and  structure,  at  any  satisfactory  conclusion 
respecting  the  relative  intellectual  capacities  of  men  and 
women,  seekers  after  truth  cast  about  for  other  methods 
that  were  free  from  the  errors  and  fallacies  of  those  which 
had  proved  so  unreliable.  The  attempt  to  base  the  alleged 
mental  inferiority  of  woman  upon  the  facial  angle  of 
Camper,  the  metafacial  angle  of  Serres,  the  craniofacial 
angle  of  Huxley,  the  sphenoidal  angle  of  Welcker,  or  the 
nasobasal  angle  of  Virchow  had  issued  in  utter  failure,  and 

1  Quand  on  songe  a  la  difference  qui  separe  de  notre  temps 
1  Education  intellectuelle  de  l'homme  de  celle  de  la  femme,  on  se  de- 
mande  si  ce  n  'est  pas  cette  influence  qui  retrecit  le  cervaux  et  le  crane 
feminins,  et  si,  les  deux  sexes  etant  livres  a  leur  spontaneite,  leur 
cervaux  ne  tendraient  pas  a  se  ressembler,  aussi  qu'il  arrive  chez  les 
sauvages. ' ' 
July  3,  1879. 


CAPACITY   FOR    SCIENTIFIC   PURSUITS    127 

had  proved  for  the  thousandth  time  that  it  is  easier  to 
formulate  theories  than  to  establish  their  validity.  It  was 
evident,  notwithstanding  the  assertions  of  certain  material- 
istic theorists,  that  the  brain  did  not  secrete  thought  as 
the  liver  secretes  bile ;  it  was  evident,  too,  that  intelligence 
could  not  be  estimated  in  terms  of  any  kind  of  mechanical 
units.  Psycho-physiologists  had  no  sort  of  dynamometer 
for  measuring  brain  power  as  they  would  measure  muscu- 
lar energy.  By  means  of  the  plethysmograph  they  might 
determine  the  amount  of  blood  sent  to  the  brain  in  a  given 
time,  but  they  had  no  psychometer  of  any  description 
which  would  enable  them  to  estimate  the  quantity,  much 
less  the  quality,  of  psychic  force  such  a  blood  supply  was 
competent  to  produce. 

Many,  of  course,  still  remained  adherents  of  the  old  view 
that  woman  must  ever  remain  the  mental  inferior  of  man 
because  she  is  by  nature  physically  weaker.  These  per- 
sons, however,  seemed  to  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  women 
who  lead  a  rational  life — who  are  not  the  slaves  of  fashion 
or  the  victims  of  luxury — have  little  to  complain  of  on  the 
score  of  physical  weakness.  This  is  evidenced  by  the  life 
and  habits  of  the  women  of  the  people,  as  well  as  by  the 
tasks  performed  by  women  among  savage  tribes,  who  in 
health  and  strength  are  little,  if  at  all,  inferior  to  their 
male  companions. 

The  late  Professor  Huxley,  in  referring  to  this  subject, 
exhibited  his  usual  acumen  and  sanity  in  such  matters  when 
he  indited  the  following  paragraph: 

"We  have  heard  a  great  deal  lately  about  the  physical 
disabilities  of  women.  Some  of  these  alleged  impediments, 
no  doubt,  are  really  inherent  in  their  organization,  but 
nine-tenths  of  them  are  artificial — the  products  of  their 
mode  of  life.  I  believe  that  nothing  would  tend  so  effec- 
tually to  get  rid  of  these  creations  of  idleness,  weariness 
and  that  'over-stimulation  of  the  emotions'  which  in  plainer 
spoken  days  used  to  be  called  wantonness,  than  a  fair  share 


128  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

of  healthy  work,  directed  toward  a  definite  object,  com- 
bined with  an  equally  fair  share  of  healthy  play,  during 
the  years  of  adolescence ;  and  those  who  are  best  acquainted 
with  the  acquirements  of  an  average  medical  practitioner 
will  find  it  hardest  to  believe  that  the  attempt  to  reach 
that  standard  is  like  to  prove  exhausting  to  an  ordinarily 
intelligent  and  well-educated  woman. ' ' * 

Substantially  the  same  views  are  held  by  Mrs.  Henry 
Fawcett  and  Dr.  Mary  Putnam  Jacobi,  whose  rare  experi- 
ence and  knowledge  give  their  opinions  on  the  subject 
under  consideration  special  weight  and  value. 

After  men  of  science  had  tried  the  various  theories  above 
enumerated  and  found  them  wanting,  they  finally  be- 
thought themselves  of  investigating  the  relative  intellectual 
standing  of  male  and  female  students  in  coeducational  in- 
stitutions, and  inquiring  into  their  comparative  capacity 
for  different  branches  of  knowledge,  as  made  known  by 
their  professors  and  by  the  results  of  oral  and  written 
examinations.  Considering  the  simplicity  of  this  method 
and  the  fact  that  it  is  the  more  rational  way  to  reach 
reliable  conclusions,  the  wonder  is  that  it  was  not  thought 
of  sooner.  It  excludes  the  bias  of  prepossessions  and  pre- 
conceived theories  and  lends  itself  to  the  discussion  of 
results  based  on  incontestable  facts. 

The  first  coeducational  institution  in  which  the  intellec- 
tual capacity  of  women,  in  competition  with  men,  was  fairly 
tested  was,  strange  to  say,  in  the  Royal  College  of  Science 
for  Ireland.  This  was  somewhat  more  than  half  a  century 
ago.  When  the  time  of  examinations  came,  both  the  men 
and  women  students  were  handed  the  same  examination 
papers.  At  the  public  distribution  of  prizes,  at  the  close 
of  the  session,  "the  ladies/ '  in  the  words  of  a  Dublin 
paper,  "vindicated  the  genius  of  their  sex  by  carrying  off 

i  Times,  London,  July  8,  1874.  Cf.  Chap.  XVII,  on  "Adolescent 
Girls  and  Their  Education/ '  in  Adolescence,  Vol.  II,  by  G.  Stanley 
Hall,  New  York,  1904. 


CAPACITY    FOR    SCIENTIFIC    PURSUITS    120 

the  highest  prizes."  In  zoology,  botany,  physics,  chemis- 
try and  mathematics  they  proved  themselves  the  peers,  and 
frequently  the  superiors,  of  their  male  competitors. 

"The  success  of  the  female  students  disturbed,  of  course, 
very  much  the  preconceived  notions  of  some  people,  who 
had  always  taken  for  granted  that  the  female  intellect  was 
inferior  to  the  male;  and,  not  being  able  to  combat  the 
stubborn  facts  that  appeared  from  time  to  time  in  the  news- 
papers, when  the  results  of  the  examinations  were  pub- 
lished, they  tried  to  account  for  them. ' ' 1 

These  cavillers,  however,  soon  discovered  that  there  was 
no  way  of  accounting  for  the  disconcerting  fact  which 
confronted  them,  except  by  confessing  that  their  theory 
regarding  the  mental  inferiority  of  women  was  not  sub- 
stantiated by  fact.  This  unexpected  demand  for  the  uncon- 
ditional surrender  of  their  long-cherished  theory  of  male 
superiority  was  a  crushing  and  humiliating  blow  to  their 
pride  of  intellect,  but  there  was  no  remedy  for  it,  nor  was 
it  accompanied  by  any  balm  of  consolation  that  they,  at 
the  time,  felt  disposed  to  regard  as  adequate  compensation 
for  their  lost  prestige — a  prestige  which  their  overweening 
sex  had  claimed  from  time  immemorial. 

Similar  experiments  under  even  more  trying  conditions 
were  subsequently  made  in  the  United  States  and  in  other 
parts  of  the  world,  and  everywhere  with  the  same  results. 
In  the  universities  of  Switzerland,  France,  England,  Ger- 
many and  Russia  women,  when  given  a  fair  opportunity, 
were  able  to  demonstrate  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  unpreju- 
diced judges  that  the  long-vaunted  superiority  of  the  male 
intellect  was  a  myth;  that  intelligence,  like  genius,  has 
no  sex. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  and  comprehensive  investi- 
gations ever  undertaken  regarding  this  long-debated  ques- 
tion was  made  some  years  ago  by  Arthur  Kirchhoff,  an 

1  The  Study  of  Science  by  Women  in  the  Contemporary  'Review 
for  March,  1869. 


ISO  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

enterprising  German  journalist.1  It  consisted  in  collecting 
and  collaborating  the  opinions  of  more  than  a  hundred  of 
the  most  distinguished  professors  of  the  Fatherland,  be- 
sides the  opinions  of  a  number  of  eminent  writers  and 
teachers  in  girls'  high  schools.  These  constitute  a  volume 
of  nearly  four  hundred  pages,  and  embody  the  views  on 
the  capacity  of  woman  for  science  of  professors  of  theol- 
ogy >  jurisprudence,  anatomy,  physiology,  surgery,  psychol- 
ogy,, history,  gynecology,  psychiatry,  philology,  philosophy, 
art,  mathematics,  physics,  astronomy,  chemistry,  zoology, 
botany,  geology,  paleontology  and  technology.  The  in- 
vestigation, indeed,  covered  every  branch  of  knowledge 
and  evoked  the  deliberate  views  of  those  who  were  looked 
upon  as  the  leading  representatives  of  German  thought  and 
culture. 

This  book  possesses  a  special  value  from  the  fact  that, 
of  all  peoples  in  Europe,  the  Germans  have  been  the  most 
refractory  to  the  claims  of  women  to  be  received  at  the 
universities  on  the  same  footing  as  men.  The  German  pro- 
fessors, naturally,  share  the  conservatism  of  their  country- 
men, and,  like  them,  are  wedded  to  routine  when  there  is 
question  of  introducing  innovations  into  their  social,  po- 
litical or  educational  systems.  One  would  anticipate,  then, 
that,  when  called  upon  to  give  their  honest  opinions  re- 
specting the  intellectual  capacity  of  women,  as  compared 
with  that  of  men,  their  answer  would  be  decidedly  in 
favor  of  the  sterner  sex.  "For,"  they  will  ask,  "have  not 
all  the  achievements  in  science  which  have  given  the  Fath- 
erland such  prestige  in  the  eyes  of  the  world  been  due 
entirely  to  men  ?  Have  the  women  of  Germany  ever  under- 
taken the  solution  of  any  great  scientific  problem,  or  have 

i-Die  Akademische  Frau.  GutacMen  hervorragender  Universitaten- 
professoren,  Frauenlehrer  und  Schriftsteller  uber  die  Befahigung  der 
From,  zum  wissenschaftlichen  Studium  und  Berufe  herausgegeben  von 
Arthur  Kirchhoff,  Berlin,  1897. 


CAPACITY   FOR    SCIENTIFIC    PURSUITS    131 

they  ever  made  any  notable  contribution  to  scientific  ad- 
vancement?   They  have  not." 

Yet,  notwithstanding  all  these  facts,  notwithstanding  all 
traditions  and  prejudices  and  social  bias,  the  unexpected 
has  happened,  even  in  conservative,  old-fashioned  Ger- 
many. The  German  professor  may  be  tenacious  of  pre- 
conceived views;  he  may  be  a  stickler  for  ancient  customs 
and  usages;  nevertheless,  when  he  is  called  upon  to  give  a 
question  a  categorical  answer  which  can  be  arrived  at  by 
observation  or  experiment,  he  may  generally,  in  spite  of 
his  likes  or  dislikes,  be  counted  on  to  give  a  decision  in 
accord  with  the  principles  of  legitimate  induction*.  He  may 
have  his  prejudices — and  who  has  not? — but,  when  one 
appeals  to  him  in  the  name  of  science  and  justice,  he  will 
rarely  be  found  wanting.  Regardless  of  all  personal  con- 
sideration, he  will  feel  that  loyalty  to  science,  of  which  he 
is  the  avowed  devotee,  requires  him  to  consider  a  question 
proposed  to  him  as  he  would  a  scientific  problem — some- 
thing to  be  decided  solely  by  such  evidence  as  may  be 
available. 

To  the  exceeding  gratification  of  the  believers  in  the 
intellectual  equality  of  the  sexes,  this  proved  to  be  the  case 
in  Herr  Kirchhoff's  investigation.  The  answers  of  the 
German  professors,  contrary  to  what  most  people  would 
have  anticipated,  were,  by  a  surprising  majority,  in  favor 
of  women.  But  their  answers  were  in  keeping  with  the 
changed  educational  conditions  in  Germany,  as  well  as  in 
other  parts  of  the  civilized  world.  Had  Herr  Kirchhoff 
undertaken  his  investigation  a  few  decades  earlier,  the 
result  would  undoubtedly  have  been  different,  for  women 
were  then  excluded  from  the  universities  and  the  profes- 
sors had  not  had  an  opportunity  of  accurately  testing  their 
intellectual  capacities.  But  having,  during  the  latter  part 
of  the  nineteenth  century,  had  them  as  students  in  their 
lecture  halls  and  laboratories,  where  they  were  able  to 
study  their  mental  powers  and  determine  the  value  of  their 


1S3  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

work  by  strict  scientific  methods,  they  were  in  a  better 
position  to  express  an  opinion  on  the  question  at  issue  than 
would,  a  few  years  previously,  have  been  possible. 

Accordingly,  even  the  declared  enemies  of  the  woman's! 
movement  among  the  German  professorate  were  forced  to! 
admit  the  intellectual  equality  of  the  two  sexes.  For  they,! 
too,  as  well  as  men  of  science  in  other  parts  of  Europe,  had 
been  measuring  skulls  and  weighing  brains ;  they,  too,  had 
been  studying  woman's  mental  caliber  in  the  light  of  the 
new  psychology;  they,  too,  had  been  watching  her  work 
in  the  various  departments  of  the  university ;  and,  notwith- 
standing all  their  observations  and  experiments,  they  were 
unable  to  detect  any  difference  between  men  and  women  inj 
brain  organization  or  in  intellectual  capacity.  And,  as 
might  have  been  foreseen,  results  harmonized  perfectly^ 
with  those  arrived  at  by  investigators  in  other  parts  of  the 
world — namely,  that  in  things  of  the  mind  there  is  perfects 
sexual  equality. 

Among  the  hundred  and  more  professors  whose  opinions 
are  given  in  Herr  Kirchhoff's  book  there  were,  of  course,^ 
a  few  who  were  not  prepared  to  subscribe  to  the  findings  of 
the  great  majority  of  their  colleagues.  But  the  reasons 
they  assign  for  dissent  were,  at  least  in  some  instances,  littlej 
better  founded  than  that  of  a  certain  professor  of  chenH 
istry  in  the  University  of  Geneva,  who,  a  few  years  ago, 
gravely  declared  that  women  have  no  aptitude  for  science 
because,  forsooth,  in  chemical  manipulations  they  break 
more  test-tubes  than  men.  Verily,  "a  Daniel  come  t(3 
judgment." 

What  probably  more  deeply  impressed  the  German  pro- 
fessors than  anything  else  was  the  marked  talent  and  taste 
of  many  of  the  women  students  for  the  abstract  sciences, 
especially  for  the  higher  mathematics.  For  it  had  always 
been  asserted  that  these  branches  of  knowledge  were  beyond 
woman 's  capacity  and  that  she  had  an  instinctive  antipathy 
for  abstruse  reasoning  and  for  abstractions  of  all  kinds. 


CAPACITY    FOR    SCIENTIFIC    PURSUITS    133 

When,  however,  they  discovered  women  whose  delight  was 
;o  discuss  the  theory  of  elliptic  functions  or  curves  denned 
)y  differential  equations ;  when  they  found  a  mathematical 
genius  like  Sonya  Kovalevsky  speculating  on  the  fourth 
limension,  and  carrying  away  from  the  mathematicians  of 
;he  world  the  most  coveted  prize  of  the  French  Academy 
>f  Sciences,  they  were  forced  to  confess  that  another  of 
;heir  illusions  was  dissipated,  and  to  acknowledge  that  they 
lad  no  longer  anything  on  which  to  base  their  long  and 
londly  cherished  opinion  of  the  mental  inequality  of  the 
sexes. 

As  an  evidence  of  the  extraordinary  change  that  had 
>een  effected  among  the  conservative  Germans  in  the  course 
>f  a  few  years  respecting  their  attitude  toward  the  admis- 
sion of  the  " Academic  Woman"  to  the  universities,  and, 
jonsequently,  toward  her  intellectual  capacity,  it  will  suf- 
ice  to  reproduce  a  sentence  from  the  elaborately  expressed 
>pinion  of  Dr.  Julius  Bernstein,  professor  of  physiology  in 
he  University  of  Halle.  ' 'After  reflection  on  the  subject, " 
le  declares,  "lam  convinced  that  neither  God  nor  religion, 
leither  custom  nor  law,  and  still  less  science,  warrants  one 
n  maintaining  any  essential  difference  in  this  respect 
>etween  the  male  and  the  female  sex. ' ' x 

The  controversy  of  centuries  regarding  woman's  intel- 
ectual  capacity  was  now  virtually  settled  beyond  all  perad- 
renture.  Woman  had  conquered,  and  her  final  victory 
lad  been  won  in  the  heart  of  the  enemy's  country,  yea, 
jven  in  what  was  thought  to  be  the  impregnable  fortress 
)f  her  relentless  foes.  It  was  achieved  where  the  proud 
reuton  male  had  imagined  that  he  was  unapproachable 

i"Ich  komme  beim  Nachdenken  hieruber  zu  der  Ueberzeigung, 
lass  kein  Gott  und  keine  Eeligion,  kein  Herkoramen  und  kein  Gesetz, 
iber  ebensowenig  die  Wissenschaft  uns  das  Kecht  erteilen,  in  dieser 
Beziehung  zwischen  dem  mannerlichen  und  weiblichen  Geschlect  einen 
Drincipiellen  Unterschied  zu  statuiren. ' '  Die  Akademische  Frau, 
3.  41. 


134  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

and  beyond  compare — in  the  laboratories  and  lecture  rooms 
of  his  great  universities — more  irresistible,  in  his  estima- 
tion, than  the  Kaiser 's  trained  legions  in  battle  array. 

It  finally  dawned  upon  the  leaders  of  thought  in  the 
Fatherland,  as  it  had  but  shortly  before  dawned  upon 
philosophers  and  men  of  science  in  other  lands,  that  the 
reputed  sexual  difference  in  intelligence  was  not  due  to 
difference  in  brain  size  or  brain  structure,  or  innate  power 
of  intellect,  but  rather  to  some  other  factors  which  had 
been  neglected,  or  overlooked,  as  being  unessential  or  of 
minor  importance.  These  factors,  on  further  investiga- 
tion, proved  to  be  education  and  opportunity. 

As  far  back  as  1869  that  keen  observer  and  philosopher, 
John  Stuart  Mill,  had  expressed  himself  on  the  subject  in 
the  following  words :  *  *  Like  the  French  compared  with  the 
English,  the  Irish  with  the  Swiss,  the  Greeks  or  Italians 
compared  with  the  German  races,  so  women  compared  with 
men  may  be  found,  on  the  average,  to  do  the  same  things 
with  some  variety  in  the  particular  kind  of  excellence. 
But  that  they  would  do  them  fully  as  well,  on  the  whole, 
if  their  education  and  cultivation  were  adapted  to  correct- 
ing instead  of  aggravating  the  infirmities  incident  to  their 
temperament,  I  see  not  the  smallest  reason  to  doubt. ' ' * 

It  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  better  illustration  of  the 
sluggishness  of  the  male  as  compared  with  the  female  mind 
than  the  tardiness  of  men  of  science  in  arriving  at  a  sane 
c6nclusion  respecting  the  subject  of  this  chapter.  For  five 
hundred  years  ago  Christine  de  Pisan  arrived  at  the  same 
conclusion  which  the  learned  professors  of  Germany 
reached  only  in  the  last  decade  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
Discussing  in  La  Cite  des  Dames  the  question  at  issue  she 
writes  as  follows:  "I  say  to  thee  again,  and  doubt  never 
the  contrary,  that  if  it  were  the  custom  to  put  the  little 
maidens  to  the  school,  and  they  were  made  to  learn  the 
sciences  as  they  do  to  the  men-children,  that  they  should 

i  The  Subjection  of  Women,  p.  91,  London,  1909. 


CAPACITY    FOR    SCIENTIFIC    PURSUITS    135 

learn  as  perfectly,  and  they  should  be  as  well  entered  into 
the  subtleties  of  all  the  arts  and  sciences  as  men  be.  And 
peradventure,  there  should  be  more  of  them,  for  I  have 
teached  heretofore  that  by  how  much  women  have  the  body 
more  soft  than  the  men  have,  and  less  able  to  do  divers 
things,  by  so  much  they  have  the  understanding  more 
sharp  there  as  they  apply  it." 

Christine  de  Pisan's  statement  is  virtually  a  challenge 
demanding  the  same  educational  opportunities  for  women 
as  were  accorded  to  men.  But  it  was  a  challenge  that  men 
did  not  see  fit  to  accept  until  full  five  centuries  had 
elapsed,  and  until  it  was  no  longer  possible  to  deny  giving 
satisfaction  to  the  long-aggrieved  half  of  humanity.  It 
was  also  an  appeal  to  experiment  and  an  appeal,  likewise, 
to  the  teachings  of  history  in  lands  where  women  have 
enjoyed  the  same  educational  advantages  as  men. 

Having  reviewed  the  many  disabilities  which  so  long 
retarded  woman's  intellectual  advancement,  and  considered 
some  of  the  objections  which  were  urged  against  her 
capacity  for  scientific  pursuits,  we  are  now  prepared  to 
consider  the  appeal  of  Christine  de  Pisan  and  deal  with  it 
on  its  merits.  This  we  shall  do  by  a  brief  survey  of 
woman's  achievements  in  the  various  branches  of  science 
in  which  she  has  been  accorded  the  same  intellectual  op- 
portunities that  were  so  long  the  exclusive  privilege  of 
her  male  compeer. 


CHAPTER   III 

WOMEN    IN    MATHEMATICS 

"All  abstract  speculations,  all  knowledge  which  is  dr 
however  useful  it  may  be,  must  be  abandoned  to  the  laboi 
ous  and  solid  mind  of  man.  .  .  .    For  this  reason  women 
will  never  learn  geometry." 

In  these  words  Immanuel  Kant,  more  than  a  century 
ago,  gave  expression  to  an  opinion  that  had  obtained  since 
the  earliest  times  respecting  the  incapacity  of  the  female 
mind  for  abstract  science,  and  notably  for  mathematics. 
"Women,  it  was  averred,  could  readily  assimilate  what  is 
concrete,  but,  like  children,  they  have  a  natural  repug- 
nance for  everything  which  is  abstract.  They  are  compe- 
tent to  discuss  details  and  to  deal  with  particulars,  but 
become  hopelessly  lost  when  they  attempt  to  generalize  or 
deal  with  universals. 

De  Lamennais  shares  Kant's  opinion  concerning  woman's 
intellectual  inferiority  and  does  not  hesitate  to  express 
himself  on  the  subject  in  the  most  unequivocal  manner. 
"I  have  never,"  he  writes,  "met  a  woman  who  was  com- 
petent to  follow  a  course  of  reasoning  the  half  of  a  quarter 
of  an  hour — un  demi  quart  d'heure.  She  has  qualities 
which  are  wanting  in  us,  qualities  of  a  particular,  inex- 
pressible charm;  but,  in  the  matter  of  reason,  logic,  the 
power  to  connect  ideas,  to  enchain  principles  of  knowledge 
and  perceive  their  relationships,  woman,  even  the  most 
highly  gifted,  rarely  attains  to  the  height  of  a  man  of 
mediocre  capacity." 

But  it  is  not  only  in  the  past  that  such  views  found 
acceptance.    They  prevail  even  to-day  to  almost  the  same 

136 


WOMEN    IN    MATHEMATICS  137 

extent  as  during  the  ages  of  long  ago.  How  far  they  have 
any  foundation  in  fact  can  best  be  determined  by  a  brief 
survey  of  what  woman  has  achieved  in  the  domain  of 
mathematics. 

Athenaeus,  a  Greek  writer  who  flourished  about  A.D. 
200,  tells  us  in  his  Deipnosophistce  of  several  Greek  women 
who  excelled  in  mathematics,  as  well  as  philosophy,  but 
details  are  wanting  as  to  their  attainments  in  this  branch 
of  knowledge.  If,  however,  we  may  judge  from  the 
number  of  women — particularly  among  the  hetasrae — who 
became  eminent  in  the  various  schools  of  philosophy,  espe- 
cially during  the  pre-Christian  era,  we  must  conclude  that 
many  of  them  were  well  versed  in  geometry  and  astronomy 
as  well  as  in  the  general  science  of  numbers.  Menagius 
declares  that  he  found  no  fewer  than  sixty-five  women  phi- 
losophers mentioned  in  the  writings  of  the  ancients1 ;  and, 
judging  from  what  we  know  of  the  character  of  the  studies 
pursued  in  certain  of  the  philosophical  schools,  especially 
those  of  Plato2  and  Pythagoras,  and  the  enthusiasm  which 
women  manifested  in  every  department  of  knowledge,  there 
can  be  no  doubt  that  they  achieved  the  same  measure  of 
success  in  mathematics  as  in  philosophy  and  literature.3 

The  first  woman  mathematician,  regarding  whose  attain- 
ments we  have  any  positive  knowledge,  is  the  celebrated 
Hypatia,  a  Neo-platonic  philosopher,  whose  unhappy  fate 
at  the  hands  of  an  Alexandrian  mob  in  the  early  part  of 
the  fifth  century  has  given  rise  to  many  legends  and  ro- 
mances which  have  contributed  not  a  little  toward  obscur- 
ing the  real  facts  of  her  extraordinary  career.  She  was 
the  daughter  of  Theon,  who  was  distinguished  as  a  mathe- 

1 ' '  Ipse  mulieres  Philosophas  in  libris  Veterum  sexaginta  quinque 
reperi,"  Historia  Mulierum  Philosopharum,  p.  3,  Amstelodami,  1692. 

2  Plato  had  inscribed  above  the  entrance  of  his  school,  Ovdeh 
iyeujfi^TTjTos  eioriTU).     Let  no  one  enter  here  who  is  not  a  geometer. 

3  Menagius  in  referring  to  this  matter,  op.  cit.,  p.  37,  writes  as 
follows:  "Meritrices  Graecas  plerasque  humanioribus  literis  et  math- 
ematicis  disciplinis  operam  dedisse  notat  Athenaeus.' ' 


138  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

matician  and  astronomer  and  as  a  professor  in  the  school 
of  Alexandria,  which  was  then  probably  the  greatest  seat 
of  learning  in  the  world.  Born  about  the  year  375  A.  D., 
she  at  an  early  age  evinced  the  possession  of  those  talents 
that  were  subsequently  to  render  her  so  illustrious.  So 
great  indeed  was  her  genius  and  so  rapid  was  her  progress 
in  this  branch  of  knowledge  under  the  tuition  of  her  father 
that  she  soon  completely  eclipsed  her  master  in  his  chosen 
specialty. 

There  is  reason  to  believe — although  the  fact  is  not  defi- 
nitely established — that  she  studied  for  a  while  in  Athens 
in  the  school  of  philosophy  conducted  by  Plutarch  the 
Younger  and  his  daughter  Asclepigenia.  After  her  re- 
turn from  Athens,  Hypatia  was  invited  by  the  magistrates 
of  Alexandria  to  teach  mathematics  and  philosophy.  Here 
in  brief  time  her  lecture  room  was  filled  by  eager  and  en- 
thusiastic students  from  all  parts  of  the  civilized  world. 
She  was  also  gifted  with  a  high  order  of  eloquence  and 
with  a  voice  so  marvelous  that  it  was  declared  to  be  "di- 
vine. ' ' 

Regarding  her  much  vaunted  beauty,  nothing  certain  is 
known,  as  antiquity  has  bequeathed  to  us  no  medal  or 
statue  by  which  we  could  form  an  estimate  of  her  physical 
grace.  But,  be  this  as  it  may,  it  is  certain  that  she  com- 
manded the  admiration  and  respect  of  all  for  her  great 
learning,  and  that  she  bore  the  mantle  of  science  and  phi- 
losophy with  so  great  modesty  and  self-confidence  that  she 
won  all  hearts.  A  letter  addressed  to  "The  Muse,"  or  to 
"The  Philosopher" — T^  <Pt\oa6cf><p — was  sure  to  be  de- 
livered to  her  at  once.  Small  wonder,  then,  to  find  a  Greek 
poet  inditing  to  her  an  epigram  containing  the  following 
sentiment : 

1 '  When  I  see  thee  and  hear  thy  word  I  thee  adore ;  it  is 
the  ethereal  constellation  of  the  Virgin,  which  I  contem- 
plate, for  to  the  heavens  thy  whole  life  is  devoted,  0  august 


WOMEN    IN    MATHEMATICS  139 

Hypatia,  ideal  of  eloquence  and  wisdom's  immaculate 
star."1 

But  it  was  as  a  mathematician  that  Hypatia  most  ex- 
celled. She  taught  not  only  geometry  and  astronomy,  but 
also  the  new  science  of  algebra,  which  had  but  a  short  time 
before  been  introduced  by  Diophantus.  And,  singular  to 
relate,  no  further  progress  was  made  in  the  mathematical 
sciences,  as  taught  by  Hypatia,  until  the  time  of  Newton, 
Leibnitz  and  Descartes, — more  than  twelve  centuries  later. 

Hypatia  was  the  author  of  three  works  on  mathematics, 
all  of  which  have  been  lost,  or  destroyed  by  the  ravages  of 
time.  One  of  these  was  a  commentary  on  the  Arithmeiica 
of  Diophantus.  The  original  treatise — or  rather  the  part 
which  has  come  down  to  us — was  found  about  the  middle 
of  the  fifteenth  century  in  the  Vatican  Library,  whither  it 
had  probably  been  brought  after  Constantinople  had  fallen 
into  the  possession  of  the  Turks.  This  valuable  work,  as 
annotated  by  the  great  French  mathematicians  Bachet  and 
Fermat,  gives  us  a  good  idea  of  the  extent  of  Hypatia 's 
attainments  as  a  mathematician. 

Another  of  Hypatia 's  works  was  a  treatise  on  the  Conic 
Sections  by  Apollonius  of  Perga — surnamed  "The  Great 
Geometer."  Next  to  Archimedes,  he  was  the  most  distin- 
guished of  the  Greek  geometricians ;  and  the  last  four  books 
of  his  conies  constitute  the  chief  portions  of  the  higher 
geometry  of  the  ancients.  Moreover,  they  offer  some  ele- 
gant geometrical  solutions  of  problems  which,  with  all  the 
resources  of  our  modern  analytical  method,  are  not  with- 
out difficulty.    The  greater  part  of  this  precious  work  has 

iThe  sentiment  of  the  Greek  epigram  is  well  expressed  in  the 
following  Latin  verses: 

"Quando  intueor  te,  adoro,  et  sermones, 
Virginis  domum  sideream  intuens. 
E  coelis  enim  tua  sunt  opera, 
Hypatia  casta,  sermonum  venustas, 
Impollutum  astrum  sapientis  doctrine.'7 


140  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

been  preserved  and  has  engaged  the  attention  of  several  of 
the  most  illustrious  of  modern  mathematicians — among 
them  Borelli,  Viviani,  Fermat,  Barrow  and  others.  The 
famous  English  astronomer,  Halley,  regarded  this  produc- 
tion of  Apollonius  of  such  importance  that  he  learned 
Arabic  for  the  express  purpose  of  translating  it  from  the 
version  that  had  been  made  into  this  language. 

A  woman  who  could  achieve  distinction  by  her  commen- 
taries on  such  works  as  the  Arithmetica  of  Diophantus,  of 
the  Conic  Sections  of  Apollonius,  and  occupy  an  honored 
place  among  such  mathematicians  as  Fermat,  Borelli,  and 
Halley,  must  have  had  a  genius  for  mathematics,  and  we 
can  well  believe  that  the  glowing  tributes  paid  by  her  con- 
temporaries to  her  extraordinary  powers  of  intellect  were 
fully  deserved.  If,  with  Pascal,  we  see  in  mathematics  "the 
highest  exercise  of  the  intelligence, ' '  and  agree  with  him  in 
placing  geometers  in  the  first  rank  of  intellectual  princes — 
princes  de  V esprit — we  must  admit  that  Hypatia  was  in- 
deed exceptionally  dowered  by  Him  whom  Plato  calls  '  ■  The 
Great  Geometer.' ' 

There  is  still  a  third  work  of  this  ill-fated  woman  that 
deserves  notice — namely,  her  Astronomical  Canon,  which 
dealt  with  the  movements  of  the  heavenly  bodies.  It  is 
the  general  opinion  that  this  was  but  a  commentary  on  the 
tables  of  Ptolemy,  in  which  event  it  is  still  possible  that  it 
may  be  found  incorporated  in  the  work  of  her  father, 
Theon,  on  the  same  subject. 

In  addition  to  her  works  on  astronomy  and  mathematics, 
Hypatia  is  credited  with  several  inventions  of  importance, 
some  of  which  are  still  in  daily  use.  Among  these  are  an 
apparatus  for  distilling  water,  another  for  measuring  the 
level  of  water,  and  a  third  an  instrument  for  determining 
the  specific  gravity  of  liquids — what  we  should  now  call  an 
areometer.  Besides  these  apparatus,  she  was  likewise  the 
inventor  of  an  astrolabe  and  a  planisphere. 

One  of  her  most  distinguished  pupils  was  the  eminent 


WOMEN    IN    MATHEMATICS  141 

Neo-platonist  philosopher,  Synesius,  who  became  the  Bishop 
of  Ptolemais  in  the  Pentapolis  of  Libya.  His  letters  con- 
stitute our  chief  source  of  information  respecting  this  re- 
markable woman.  Seven  of  them  are  addressed  to  her,  and 
in  four  others  he  makes  mention  of  her.  In  one  of  them 
he  writes :  ' '  We  have  seen  and  we  have  heard  her  who  pre- 
sides at  the  sacred  mysteries  of  philosophy .' '  In  another 
he  apostrophizes  her  as  "My  benefactress,  my  teacher, — 
magistra — my  sister,  my  mother. ' ' 

In  science  Hypatia  was  among  the  women  of  antiquity 
what  Sappho  was  in  poetry  and  what  Aspasia  was  in  phi- 
losophy and  eloquence — the  chief  est  glory  of  her  sex.  In 
profundity  of  knowledge  and  variety  of  attainments  she 
had  few  peers  among  her  contemporaries,  and  she  is  en- 
titled to  a  conspicuous  place  among  such  luminaries  of 
science  as  Ptolemy,  Euclid,  Apollonius,  Diophantus  and 
Hipparchus.1 

It  is  a  matter  of  regret  to  the  admirers  of  this  favored 
daughter  of  the  Muses  that  she  is  absent  from  Eaphael's 
School  of  Athens;  but,  had  her  achievements  been  as  well 
known  and  appreciated  in  his  day  as  they  are  now,  we  can 
readily  believe  that  the  incomparable  artist  would  have 
found  a  place  for  her  in  this  masterpiece  with  the  matchless 
form  and  features  of  his  beloved  Fornarina. 

After  the  death  of  Hypatia  the  science  of  mathematics 
remained  stationary  for  many  long  centuries.  Outside  of 
certain  Moors  in  Spain,  the  only  mathematicians  of  note 
in  Europe,  until  the  Renaissance,  were  Gerbert,  afterward 
Pope  Silvester  II,  and  Leonardo  da  Pisa.  The  first  woman 
to  attract  special  attention  for  her  knowledge  of  mathe- 
matics was  Heloise,  the  noted  pupil  of  Abelard.    Accord- 

i  Among  modern  works  on  Hypatia  may  be  mentioned  Hypatia, 
die  Philosophin  von  Alexandria,  by  St.  Wolt,  Vienna,  1879;  Hypatia 
von  Alexandria,  by  W.  A.  Meyer,  Heidelberg,  1886;  Ipazia  Alessan- 
drina,  by  D.  Guido  Bigoni,  Venize,  1887,  and  Be  Hypatia,  by  B. 
Ligier,  Dijon,  1879. 


143  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

ing  to  Franciscus  Ambrosius,  who  edited  the  works  of 
Abelard  and  Heloise  in  1616,  the  famous  prioress  of  The 
Paraclete  was  a  prodigy  of  learning,  for  besides  having  a 
knowledge  of  Latin,  Greek  and  Hebrew,  which  was  some- 
thing extremely  rare  in  her  time,  she  was  also  well  versed 
in  philosophy,  theology  and  mathematics,  and  inferior  in 
these  branches  only  to  Abelard  himself,  who  was  prob- 
ably the  most  eminent  scholar  of  his  age.1 

Many  Italian  women,  as  we  have  seen  in  a  preceding 
chapter,  were  noted  for  their  proficiency  in  the  various 
branches  of  mathematics.  Some  of  the  most  distinguished 
of  them  flourished  during  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth 
centuries.  Among  these  were  Elena  Cornaro  Piscopia,  cel- 
ebrated as  a  linguist  as  well  as  a  mathematician;  Maria 
Angela  Ardinghelli,  translator  of  the  Vegetable  Statics  of 
Stephen  Hales;  Cristina  Koccati,  who  taught  physics  for 
twenty-seven  years  in  the  Scientific  Institute  of  Eovigo,  and 
Clelia  Borromeo,  fondly  called  by  her  countrymen  gloria 
Genuensium — the  glory  of  the  Genoese.  In  addition  to  a 
special  talent  for  languages,  she  possessed  so  great  a  ca- 
pacity for  mathematics  and  mechanics  that  no  problem  in 
these  sciences  seemed  to  be  beyond  her  comprehension.2 
Then  there  was  also  Diamante  Medaglia,  a  mathematician 
of  note,  who  wrote  a  special  dissertation  on  the  importance 
of  mathematics  in  the  curriculum  of  studies  for  women, 
Alle  matematiche,  alle  matematiche  prestino  V opera  loro  le 
donne,  onde  non  cadano  in  crassi  paralogismi — ' '  To  mathe- 

i  Ambrosius  in  his  preface  to  the  works  of  Abelard  and  Heloise 
refers  to  the  latter  as  ' '  Clarum  sui  sexus  sidus  et  ornamentum, ' '  and 
declares  "necnon  mathesin,  philosophiam  et  theologiam  a  viro  suo 
edocta,  illo  solo  minor  f uit. ' ' 

2  Mazzuchelli  says  of  her  in  his  Museo,  ' '  Sembra  non  avervi  nella 
Natura  cosa  la  piu  intralciata  ed  oscura  nelle  storie,  ne  finalemente 
la  piu  astrusa  nelle  matematiche  e  nelle  mecchaniche,  che  a  lei  conta 
non  sia  e  palese,  e  che  sf ugga  la  capacita  del  suo  spirito. ' '  Dizionario 
Biografico,  Vol.  I,  p.  122,  by  Ambrogio  Levati,  Milano,  1821. 


WOMEN    IN    MATHEMATICS  143 

matics,  to  mathematics/ '  she  cries,  "let  women  devote 
attention  for  mental  discipline. ' ' x 

The  most  illustrious,  by  far,  of  the  women  mathemati- 
cians of  Italy  was  Maria  Gaetana  Agnesi,  who  was  born  in 
Milan  in  1718  and  died  there  at  the  age  of  eighty-one.  At 
an  early  age  she  exhibited  rare  intelligence  and  soon  dis- 
tinguished herself  by  her  extraordinary  talent  for  lan- 
guages. At  the  age  of  five  she  spoke  French  with  ease  and 
correctness,  while  only  six  years  later  she  was  able  to  trans- 
late Greek  into  Latin  at  sight  and  to  speak  the  former  as 
fluently  as  her  own  Italian.  At  the  early  age  of  nine  she 
startled  the  learned  men  and  women  of  her  native  city  by 
discoursing  for  an  hour  in  Latin  on  the  rights  of  women  to 
the  study  of  science.  This  discourse — Oratio — was  not,  as 
usually  stated,  her  own  composition,  but  a  translation  from 
the  Italian  of  a  discourse  written  by  her  teacher  of  Latin. 
That  a  child  of  nine  years  should  speak  in  the  language  of 
Cicero  for  a  full  hour  before  a  learned  assembly  and  with- 
out once  losing  the  thread  of  her  discourse  was,  indeed,  a 
wonderful  performance,  and  we  are  not  surprised  to  learn 
that  she  was  regarded  by  her  countrymen  as  an  infant 
prodigy.2 

In  addition  to  Italian,  French,  Latin  and  Greek,  she  was 
acquainted  with  German,  Spanish  and  Hebrew.  For  this 
reason  she  was,  like  Elena  Cornaro  Piscopia,  the  famous 

*Delle  Bonne  Illustri  Italian*  del  XIII  al  XIX  Secolo,  p.  268, 
Roma. 

2  The  full  title  of  this  celebrated  discourse  is  Oratio  qua  ostenditur 
Artium  liberalium  studia  a  Faimineo  sexu  neutiquam  abhorere,  habita 
a  Maria  de  Agnesis  Rhetorics  Operam  Dante,  Anno  wtatis  sua?  nono 
nondum  exacto,  die  18,  Augusti,  1727.  It  is  found  at  the  end  of  a 
work  entitled  Discorsi  Academici  di  varj  autori  Viventi  intorno  agli 
Stuj  delle  Donne  in  Padova,  1729.  This  subject,  it  may  be  remarked, 
frequently  engaged  the  attention  of  Maria  Gaetana  as  she  advanced 
in  years,  for  we  find  it  among  the  questions  discussed  in  her  Proposi- 
tions Philosophies,  pp.  2  and  3,  Mediolani,  1738. 


144  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

"Venetian  Minerva/ '  called  Oracolo  Settilingue — Oracle 
of  Seven  Languages.1 

But  it  was  in  the  higher  mathematics  that  Maria  Gaetana 
was  to  win  her  chief  title  to  fame  in  the  world  of  learning. 
So  successful  had  she  been  in  her  prosecution  of  this  branch 
of  science  that  she  was,  at  the  early  age  of  twenty,  able  to 
enter  upon  her  monumental  work — Le  Instituzioni  Anali- 
tiche — a  treatise  in  two  large  quarto  volumes  on  the  dif- 
ferential and  integral  calculus.  To  this  difficult  task  she 
devoted  ten  years  of  arduous  and  uninterrupted  labor. 
And  if  we  may  credit  her  biographer,  she  consecrated  the 
nights  as  well  as  the  days  to  her  herculean  undertaking. 
For  frequently,  after  working  in  vain  on  a  difficult  prob- 
lem during  the  day,  she  was  known  to  bound  from  her  bed 
during  the  night  while  sound  asleep  and,  like  a  somnambu- 
list, make  her  way  through  a  long  suite  of  rooms  to  her 

i  M.  Charles  de  Brosses,  in  his  Lettres  Familieres  ecrites  de 
ritalie  en  1739  et  1740,  speaks  of  Agnesi  in  terms  that  recall  the 
marvelous  stories  which  are  related  of  Admirable  Crichton  and  Pico 
della  Mirandola.  "She  appeared  to  me,"  he  tells  us,  "something 
more  stupendous — una  cosa  piu  stupenda — than  the  Duomo  of 
Milan."  Having  been  invited  to  a  conversazione  for  the  purpose  of 
meeting  this  wonderful  woman,  the  learned  Frenchman  found  her 
to  be  a  "young  lady  of  about  eighteen  or  twenty. "  She  was  sur- 
rounded by  * '  about  thirty  people many  of  them  from  different 

parts  of  Europe. "  The  discussion  turned  on  various  questions  of 
mathematics  and  natural  philosophy. 

"She  spoke,"  writes  de  Brosses,  "wonderfully  well  on  these  sub- 
jects, though  she  could  not  have  been  prepared  beforehand  any  more 
than  we  were.  She  is  much  attached  to  the  philosophy  of  Newton; 
and,  it  is  marvelous  to  see  a  person  of  her  age  so  conversant  with 
such  abstruse  subjects.  Yet,  however  much  I  was  surprised  at  the 
extent  and  depth  of  her  knowledge,  I  was  still  more  amazed  to  hear 

her  speak  Latin with  such  purity,  ease   and  accuracy,  that  I 

do  not  recollect  any  book  in  modern  Latin  written  in  so  classical 

a  style  as  that  in  which  she  pronounced  these  discourses The 

conversation  afterwards  became  general,  everyone  speaking  in  the 
language  of  his  own  country,  and  she  answering  in  the  same  lan- 
guage ;  for,  her  knowledge  of  languages  is  prodigious. ' ' 


WOMEN    IN    MATHEMATICS  145 

study,  where  she  wrote  out  the  solution  of  the  problem  and 
then  returned  to  her  bed.  The  following  morning,  on  re- 
turning to  her  desk,  she  found,  to  her  great  surprise,  that 
while  asleep  she  had  fully  solved  the  problem  which  had 
been  the  subject  of  her  meditations  during  the  day  and  of 
her  dreams  during  the  night.  Could  the  psychiatrist  who 
so  loves  to  deal  with  obscure  mental  phenomena  find  a  more 
interesting  case  to  engage  his  attention  or  one  more  worthy 
of  the  most  careful  investigation  ? 

Finally  Maria  Gaetana's  opus  ma  jus  was  completed  and 
given  to  the  public.  It  would  be  impossible  to  describe  the 
sensation  it  produced  in  the  learned  world.  Everybody 
talked  about  it ;  everybody  admired  the  profound  learning 
of  the  author,  and  acclaimed  her:  "II  portento  del  sesso, 
unico  al  Mondo" — the  portent  of  her  sex,  unique  in  the 
world.  By  a  single  effort  of  her  genius  she  had  completely 
demolished  that  fabric  of  false  reasoning  which  had  so  long 
been  appealed  to  as  proof  positive  of  woman's  intellectual 
inferiority,  especially  in  the  domain  of  abstract  science. 
Maria  Gaetana's  victory  was  complete,  and  her  victory  was 
likewise  a  victory  for  her  sex.  She  had  demonstrated  once 
for  all,  and  beyond  a  quirk  or  quibble,  that  women  could 
attain  to  the  highest  eminence  in  mathematics  as  well  as  in 
literature,  that  supreme  excellence  in  any  department  of 
knowledge  was  not  a  question  of  sex  but  a  question  of  edu- 
cation and  opportunity,  and  that  in  things  of  the  mind 
there  was  essentially  no  difference  between  the  male  and 
the  female  intellect. 

The  world  saw  in  Agnesi  a  worthy  accession  to  that  noble 
band  of  gifted  women  who  count  among  their  number  a 
Sappho,  a  Corinna,  an  Aspasia,  a  Hypatia,  a  Paula,  a 
Hroswitha,  a  Dacier,  an  Isabella  Rosales  who,  in  the  six- 
teenth century,  successfully  defended  the  most  difficult  the- 
ological theses  in  the  presence  of  Paul  III  and  the  entire 
college  of  cardinals.  And  so  delighted  were  the  women — 
especially  those  in  Italy — with  the  signal  triumph  of  their 


146  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

eminent  sister  that  they  defied  the  traducers  of  their  sex — 
muliebris  sapientice  infensissimis  hostibus — to  continue  any- 
longer  their  unreasonable  campaign  against  the  rights  of 
women  which  were  based  on  the  intellectual  equality  of  the 
two  sexes. 

So  highly  did  the  French  Academy  of  Science  value  Ag- 
nesi's  achievement  that  she  would  at  once  have  been  made 
a  member  of  this  learned  body  had  it  not  been  against  the 
constitutions  to  admit  a  woman  to  membership.  M.  Mo- 
tigny,  one  of  the  committee  appointed  by  the  Academy  to 
report  on  the  work,  in  his  letter  to  the  author,  among  other 
things,  writes:  "Permit  me,  Mademoiselle,  to  unite  my 
personal  homage  to  the  plaudits  of  the  entire  Academy.  I 
have  the  pleasure  of  making  known  to  my  country  an  ex- 
tremely useful  work  which  has  long  been  desired,  and  which 
has  hitherto" — both  in  France  and  in  England — "existed 
only  in  outline.  I  do  not  know  any  work  of  this  kind  which 
is  clearer,  more  methodic  or  more  comprehensive  than  your 
Analytical  Institutions.  There  is  none  in  any  language 
which  can  guide  more  surely,  lead  more  quickly,  and  con- 
duct further  those  who  wish  to  advance  in  the  mathemat- 
ical sciences.  I  admire  particularly  the  art  with  which 
you  bring  under  uniform  methods  the  divers  conclusions 
scattered  among  the  works  of  geometers  and  reached  by 
methods  entirely  different." 

As  an  indication  of  the  exceptional  merit  of  Agnesi's 
work,  even  long  after  its  publication  in  1748,  it  suffices  to 
state  that  the  second  volume  of  the  Instituzioni  Analitiche 
was  translated  into  French  in  1775  by  Antelmy  and  anno- 
tated by  the  Abbe  Bossuet,  a  member  of  the  French  Acad- 
emy and  a  collaborator  of  D  'Alembert  on  the  mathematical 
part  of  the  famous  Encyclopedic. 

A  still  greater  proof  of  the  estimation  in  which  Agnesi's 
work  was  held  by  men  of  science  is  the  fact  that  it  was 
translated  in  its  entirety  into  English  by  the  Rev.  John 
Colton,  Lucasian  Professor  of  Mathematics  in  the  Univer- 


WOMEN    IN    MATHEMATICS  147 

sity  of  Cambridge,  and  published  in  1801,  fifty-two  years 
after  it  had  appeared  in  Italian.  His  impression  of  the 
methods  followed  by  the  Milanese  savante  was  so  favorable 
that,  in  the  words  of  a  contemporary  writer,  it  "gave  rise 
to  his  very  spirited  resolution  of  learning  a  new  language 
at  an  advanced  period  of  life,  that  he  might  make  himself 
perfect  master  of  them. '  * 1 

Gratifying,  however,  as  were  the  tributes  of  admiration 
and  appreciation  which  came  to  Agnesi  from  all  quarters, 
from  learned  societies,  from  eminent  mathematicians,  from 
sovereigns — the  Empress  Maria  Theresa  sent  her  a  splen- 
did diamond  ring  and  a  precious  crystal  casket  be  jeweled 
with  diamonds — that  which  touched  her  most  deeply  was, 
undoubtedly,  the  recognition  which  she  received  from  the 
great  Maecenas  of  his  age,  Pope  Benedict  XIV.  As  Car- 
dinal Lambertini  and  Archbishop  of  Bologna,  he  had  taken 
a  conspicuous  part  in  the  honors  showered  on  Laura  Bassi 

i  At  the  conclusion  of  an  elaborate  review  of  Colton  'a  transla- 
tion of  Agnesi 's  Institusioni  Andlitiche  in  the  Edinburgh  Beview  for 
January,  1804,  the  writer  expresses  himself  as  follows:  "We  can- 
not take  leave  of  a  work  that  does  so  much  honor  to  female  genius, 
without  earnestly  recommending  the  perusal  of  it  to  those  who  believe 
that  great  talents  are  bestowed  by  nature  exclusively  on  man,  and 
who  allege  that  women,  even  in  their  highest  attainments,  are  to  be 
compared  only  to  grown  children,  and  have,  in  no  instance,  given 
proofs  of  original  and  inventive  powers,  of  a  capacity  for  patient 
research,  or  for  profound  investigation.  Let  those  who  hold  these 
opinions  endeavor  to  follow  the  author  of  the  Analytical  Institutions 
through  the  loug  series  of  demonstrations,  which  she  has  contrived 
with  so  much  skill  and  explained  with  such  elegance  and  perspicuity. 
If  they  are  able  to  do  so,  and  to  compare  her  work  with  others  of 
the  same  kind,  they  will  probably  retract  their  former  opinions,  and 
acknowledge  that,  in  one  instance  at  least,  intellectual  powers  of  the 
highest  order  have  been  lodged  in  the  brain  of  a  woman. 

"At  si  gelidus  obstiterit  circum  praecordia  sanguis;  and  if  they 
are  unable  to  attend  this  illustrious  female  in  her  scientific  excur- 
sions, of  course,  they  will  not  see  the  reasons  for  admiring  her  genius 
that  others  do;  but  they  may  at  least  learn  to  think  modestly  of 
their  own." 


148  [WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

when  she  received  her  doctorate,  and  was  specially  de- 
lighted when  she  was  made  professor  of  physics  in  his  fa- 
vored university.  Being  himself  familiar  with  the  higher 
mathematics,  he  recognized  at  once  the  exceptional  merit 
of  Maria  Gaetana's  work  and  showed  his  appreciation  of  it 
not  only  by  letters  and  presents,  but  also  by  having  her, 
motu  proprio,  appointed  by  the  Bolognese  senate  as  pro- 
fessor of  higher  mathematics  in  the  University  of  Bologna. 

In  advising  her  of  this  appointment,  he  writes  her  that 
he  had  in  view  the  honor  of  the  University  in  which  he  had 
always  taken  a  special  interest,  and  that  the  appointment 
carried  with  it  no  obligation  of  thanks  on  her  part  but 
rather  on  his — che  porta  seco  ch'ella  non  deve  ringraziar 
Noi,  ma  che  Noi  dobbiamo  ringraziar  lei.  The  interest  that 
this  wise  and  broad-minded  pontiff  exhibited  in  the  ad- 
vancement of  learned  women  and  the  rewards  he  was  ever 
ready  to  accord  to  their  achievements  in  science  and  litera 
ture — especially  in  the  cases  of  Laura  Bassi  and  Maria 
Gaetana  Agnesi — is  in  keeping  with  the  policy  pursued  by 
his  predecessors,  and  accounts  in  great  measure  for  tha 
large  number  of  learned  women  in  Italy  who,  since  the 
opening  of  the  first  universities,  have  been  the  glory  of 
their  sex  and  country. 

But  ardent  as  was  the  desire  of  the  Supreme  Pontiff  to 
have  Agnesi  occupy  the  chair  of  mathematics,  and  numer 
ous  as  were  the  appeals  of  her  friends  and  the  members  o 
the  university  faculty  to  have  her  accept  the  appointment 
that  carried  with  it  such  signal  honor,  she  could  never  be 
induced  to  leave  her  beloved  Milan.  For,  after  completing 
her  masterpiece,  she  resolved  to  retire  from  the  world  and 
devote  the  rest  of  her  life  to  the  care  of  the  poor,  the  sick 
and  the  helpless  in  her  native  city.  She  did  not,  however, 
as  is  so  frequently  asserted,  enter  the  convent  and  become 
a  nun.1    During  many  years  after  her  retirement  from  the 

1  It  is  surprising  how  many  legends  have  obtained  respecting  the 
life  of  Agnesi  after  the  publication  of  her  Instituzioni  Analitiche. 


WOMEN    IN    MATHEMATICS  149 

world,  she  lived  in  her  own  home,  a  part  of  which  she  had 
converted  into  a  hospital.  During  the  last  fifteen  years  of 
her  life  she  had  charge  of  the  Pio  Albergo  Trivukio — a 
large  institution  founded  by  Prince  Trivulzio  for  the  aged 
poor  who  were  without  home  or  assistance. 

She  had  devoted  ten  years  of  the  flower  of  her  life  to 
the  writing  of  her  Instituzioni  Analitiche — prepared  pri- 
marily for  the  benefit  of  one  of  her  brothers  who  had  a 
taste  for  mathematics — and,  after  it  was  finished,  she  en- 
tered upon  that  long  career  of  heroic  charity  which  was 
terminated  only  at  her  death  at  the  advanced  age  of 
eighty-one. 

One  loves  to  speculate  regarding  Maria  Gaetana 's  pos- 
sible achievements  if  she  had  continued  during  the  rest  of 
her  life  that  science  in  which,  during  a  few  short  years, 
she  had  won  such  distinction.  She  had  made  her  own  the 
discoveries  of  Newton,  Leibnitz,  Roberval,  Fermat,  Des- 
cartes, Riccati,  Euler,  the  brothers  Bernouilli,  and  had 
mastered  the  entire  science  of  mathematics  then  known. 
Her  pinions  were  trimmed  for  essaying  loftier  flights  than 
Thus,  the  writer  of  the  article  in  the  Edinburgh  Beview,  above 
quoted,  declares  that  "she  retired  to  a  convent  of  blue  nuns," — a 
statement  that  has  frequently  been  repeated  in  many  of  our  most 
noted  encyclopaedias. 

In  a  Prospetto  Biografico  delle  Donne  Italiane,  written  by  G.  C. 
Facchini  and  published  in  Venice  in  1824,  it  is  stated  that  Maria 
Gaetana  was  selected  by  the  Pope  to  occupy  "the  chair  of  mathe- 
matics which  had  been  left  vacant  by  the  death  of  her  father, ' '  while 
Cavazza  in  his  work  "Le  Scuole  dell,"  Antico  Studio  Bolognese, 
pp.  289-290,  published  in  Milan  in  1896,  assures  us  that  Gaetana 
Agnesi  taught  analytical  geometry  in  the  University  of  Bologna  for 
full  forty-eight  years.  The  facts  are  that  neither  the  father  nor  the 
daughter  ever  taught  even  a  single  hour  either  in  this  or  in  any  other 
university.  Cf.  Maria  Gaetana  Agnesi,  p.  273  et  seq.,  by  Luisa  Anzo- 
letti,  Milano,  1900.  This  is  far  the  best  life  of  Milan's  illustrious 
daughter  that  has  yet  appeared.  The  reader  may  also  consult  with 
profit  the  Elogio  Storico  di  Maria  Gaetana  Agnesi,  by  Antonio 
Frisi,  Milano,  1799,  and  Gli  Scrttori  d'ltalia,  of  G.  Mazzuchelli, 
Tom.  I,  Par.  I,  p.  198  et  seq.,  Brescia,  1795. 


150  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

any  hitherto  attempted,  and  her  intellect  was  prepared,  as 
one  of  her  scientific  friends  expressed  it,  "for  fixing  the 
limits  of  the  infinite.' '  But  while  the  world  of  science  was 
still  sounding  her  praises  and  predicting  for  her  still 
greater  triumphs  in  the  field  of  analysis,  it  learned  with 
surprise  and  sorrow  that  she  had  bid  adieu  to  those  studies 
in  which  she  had  achieved  such  extraordinary  success,  and 
had  consecrated  her  life  to  the  service  of  the  poor  and  the 
afflicted.  She  disappeared  completely  from  those  literary 
and  scientific  reunions  where  she  had  so  long  been  the  most 
conspicuous  figure,  and  was  thenceforth  known  only  as  the 
ministering  angel  of  the  suffering  and  the  abandoned.  For 
half  a  century  hers  was  a  life  of  the  most  heroic  charity 
and  self-abnegation.  Very  readily,  therefore,  we  can  un- 
derstand why  a  recent  representative  of  the  scientific  world 
should  desire  to  see  her  name  placed  on  the  calendar  of 
saints.1 

Had  Agnesi  devoted  her  entire  life  to  science  instead  of 
abandoning  it  just  when  she  was  prepared  to  do  her  best 
work,  she  might  to-day  be  ranked  among  such  supreme 
mathematicians  as  Lagrange,  Monge,  Laplace  and  the  Ber- 
nouillis,  all  of  whom  were  her  contemporaries.  Even  as  it 
was,  she  has  been  placed  beside  Cardan,  Leibnitz  and  Euler 
for  her  remarkable  powers  of  analysis  of  infinitesimals, 
while  the  best  proof  of  the  literary  value  of  her  Instituzioni 
Analitiche  is  the  fact  that  it  has  been  selected  by  the  fa- 
mous society  Delia  Crusca  as  a  testo  di  lingua — a  work  con- 
sidered as  a  classic  of  its  kind  and  used  in  the  preparation  of 
the  great  authoritative  dictionary  of  the  Italian  language. 

But  by  consecrating  herself  to  charity  she  probably  ac- 
complished far  more  for  humanity  and  for  the  well-being 
of  her  sex  than  if  she  had  elected  to  continue  her  work  in 

iM.  Kebiere,  in  his  Les  Femmes  dans  la  Science,  p.  13,  Paris, 
1897,  writes,  "Ne  pourrait-on  aller  plus  loin  et  eanonizer  notre 
Agnesif  J'estime,  moi  profane,  que  ce  serait  une  sainte  qui  en 
vaudrait  bien  d'autres." 


WOMEN    IN    MATHEMATICS  151 

the  higher  mathematics.  There  had  been  many  learned 
women  in  Italy  before  her  time  and  many  since ;  many  who 
were  distinguished  as  Hellenists,  as  Latinists,  as  polyglots, 
as  mathematicians — women  like  the  Roccati,  the  Borghini, 
the  Brassi,  the  Ardinghelli,  the  Barbapiccola,  the  Caminer 
Turra,  the  Tambroni ;  but  Maria  Gaetana  Agnesi  surpasses 
them  all,  not  only  in  knowledge,  but  as  a  potent  influence 
for  the  diffusion  of  culture  and  the  spirit  of  brotherhood, 
for  the  expansion  of  benevolence  and  charity,  and,  above 
all,  for  the  elevation  of  woman.  She  was  also,  as  her  latest 
and  best  biographer  beautifully  expresses  it,  "an  inspired 
condottiera  who,  in  the  field  of  civility,  anticipated  the  con- 
quests of  these  latter  days. '  •  She  was,  indeed,  as  her  epi- 
taph informs  us,  pietate,  doctrina,  beneficentia  insignis,  and 
as  such  she  will  live  in  the  memory  of  our  race  as  long  as 
men  shall  admire  genius  and  love  virtue. 

In  the  year  following  the  publication  of  Agnesi 's  Institu- 
zioni  Analitiche  was  recorded  the  premature  and  tragic 
death  of  the  distinguished  French  mathematician,  the  Mar- 
quise Emilie  du  Chatelet.  She  has  been  described  as  a 
"thinker  and  scientist,  precieuse  and  pedant,  but  not  the 
less  a  coquette — in  short,  a  woman  of  contradictions."  x 
To  most  readers  she  is  better  known  by  reason  of  her 
liaison  with  Voltaire,  of  whom  she  is  regarded  as  a  mere 
satellite,  than  for  her  work  in  science.  But  she  was  far 
more  than  a  satellite  that  shone  by  the  light  received  from 
the  sage  of  Ferney.  For  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  she 
was  a  highly  gifted  woman  who,  besides  having  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  several  languages,  including  Latin,  possessed 
a  special  talent  for  mathematics.  It  was  said  of  her  that 
' ■  she  read  Yirgil,  Pope  and  algebra  as  others  read  novels, ' ' 
and  that  she  was  able  "to  multiply  nine  figures  by  nine 
others  in  her  head."  No  less  an  authority  than  the  illus- 
trious Ampere  declared  her  to  be  "a  genius  in  geometry." 

1  An  Eighteenth  Century  Marquise,  a  Study  of  Emilie  du  Chatelet, 
p.  5,  by  F.  Hamel,  New  York,  1911. 


152  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

Among  her  teachers  in  mathematics  were  Clairaut,  Koe- 
nig,  Maupertuis,  Pere  Jaquier  and  Jean  Bernouilli,  the 
immediate  predecessors  of  such  distinguished  mathemati- 
cians as  Monge,  Lagrange,  d'Alembert  and  Laplace.  At 
her  Chateau  of  Cirey,  where  she  and  Voltaire  spent  many- 
years  together,  she  was  visited  by  learned  men  from  various 
parts  of  Europe.  Among  these  was  the  Italian  scholar, 
Francisco  Algarotti,  who  was  the  author  of  a  work  entitled 
Newtonism  for  Women.  And  as  Mme.  du  Chatelet  was  an 
ardent  admirer  of  Newton,  the  author  of  the  Principia  soon 
became  a  strong  bond  of  union  between  her  and  the  bril- 
liant Italian.  She  called  the  savants  who  frequented  her 
chateau  at  Cirey  the  Emiliens  and  purposed  writing  me- 
moirs to  be  entitled  Emiliana — a  design,  however,  which 
she  was  never  able  to  execute. 

The  first  work  of  importance  from  the  pen  of  the  Mar- 
quise was  entitled  Institutions  de  Physique.  In  it  she  gave 
an  exposition  of  the  philosophy  of  Leibnitz  and  disserta- 
tions on  space,  time  and  force.  In  the  discussion  of  the 
last  topic  she  seems  to  have  anticipated  some  of  the  later 
conclusions  of  science  respecting  the  nature  of  energy. 

Her  most  noted  achievement,  however,  was  her  transla- 
tion of  Newton 's  Principia,  the  first  translation  into  French 
of  this  epoch-making  work.  To  translate  this  masterpiece 
from  its  original  Latin,  it  was  necessary  that  the  Marquise, 
in  order  to  make  it  intelligible  to  others,  should  have  a 
thorough  understanding  of  it  herself.  To  the  translation 
she  added  a  commentary,  which  shows  that  Mme.  du  Cha- 
telet had  a  mathematical  mind  of  undoubted  power.  She 
labored  assiduously  on  this  great  undertaking  for  many 
years  and  completed  it  only  shortly  before  her  death;  but 
it  was  not  published  until  ten  years  after  her  demise. 

In  his  Elogie  Ristorique  on  the  Marquise 's  translation  of 
the  Principia,  Voltaire,  in  his  usual  flamboyant  style,  de- 
clares * '  Two  wonders  have  been  performed :  one  that  New- 
ton was  able  to  write  this  work,  the  other  that  a  woman 


WOMEN    IN    MATHEMATICS  153 

could  translate  and  explain  it. "  In  an  effort  to  express  in 
a  single  sentence  all  his  admiration  for  his  talented  friend 
he  does  not  hesitate  to  state : ' '  Never  was  woman  so  learned 
as  she,  and  never  did  anyone  less  deserve  that  people  should 
say  of  her,  'She  is  a  learned  woman.'  "  Again  he  refers 
to  her  with  characteristic  Frenchiness  as  "a  woman  who 
has  translated  and  explained  Newton,  in  one  word  a  very 
great  man — en  un  mot  un  tres  grand  homme."x 

But,  although  the  extent  of  her  attainments  and  her  abil- 
ity as  a  mathematician  were  unquestionable,  she  fell  far 
short  of  her  great  contemporary,  Gaetana  Agnesi,  both  in 
the  depth  and  breadth  of  her  scholarship  and  in  her  power 
of  infinitesimal  analysis.  As  to  her  moral  character,  she 
was  infinitely  inferior  to  the  saintly  savante  of  Milan.  She 
was  by  inclination  and  profession  an  Epicurean  and  an 
avowed  sensualist.  In  her  little  treatise,  Reflexions  sur  le 
Bonheur — Reflections  on  Happiness — she  unblushingly  as- 
serts "that  we  have  nothing  to  do  in  this  world  except 
procure  for  ourselves  agreeable  sensations."  Considering 
her  profligate  life,  bordering  at  times  on  utter  abandon,  we 
are  not  surprised  that  one  of  her  countrymen  has  character- 
ized her  as  "Femme  sans  foi,  sans  moeurs,  sans  pudeur," — 
a  woman  without  faith,  without  morals,  without  shame.2 

i  Preface  to  Mme.  du  Chatelet's  translation  of  the  Principia  of 
Newton,  Paris,  1740. 

2  Voltaire 's  last  tribute,  ' l  The  Divine  Emilie, ' '  or,  as  Frederick 
II  was  wont  to  eall  her,  ' '  Venus-Newton, ' '  concluded  with  the  follow- 
ing verses: 

"L'Univers  a  perdu  la  sublime  Emilie; 
Elle  aimait  les  plaisirs,  les  arts,  la  verite; 
Les  dieux,  en  lui  dormant  leur  ame  et  genie, 
N'avaient  garde  pour  eux  que  1 'immortalite. ' ' 
The  universe  has  lost  the  sublime  Emilie;  she  loved  pleasure,  the 
arts,  truth;   the  gods,  in  giving  her  their  soul  and  genius,  retained 
for  themselves  only  immortality. 

For  further  information  of  this  extraordinary  woman,  see  Lettres 
de  la  Mme.  du  Chdtelet,  Bennies  pour  la  premiere  fois,  par  Eugene 
Asse,  Paris,  1882, 


154  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

Anna  Barbara  Reinhardt  of  Winterthur  in  Switzerland 
was  another  woman  of  exceptional  mathematical  talent. 
She  is  remarkable  for  having  extended  and  improved  the 
solution  of  a  difficult  problem  that  specially  engaged  the 
attention  of  Maupertuis.  According  to  so  competent  an 
authority  as  Jean  Bernouilli,  she  was  the  superior,  as  a 
mathematician,  of  the  Marquise  de  Chatelet. 

Of  a  more  original  and  profound  mathematical  mind  was 
Sophie  Germain,  a  countrywoman  of  the  Marquise  du  Cha- 
telet. Hers  was  the  glory  of  being  one  of  the  founders  of 
mathematical  physics.  A  pupil  of  Lagrange  and  a  co- 
worker with  Biot,  Legendre,  Poisson  and  Lagrange,  she 
has  justly  been  called  by  De  Prony  "the  Hypatia  of  the 
nineteenth  century." 

Her  success,  however,  was  not  achieved  without  overcom- 
ing many  and  great  difficulties.  In  the  first  place,  she  had 
to  overcome  the  opposition  of  her  family,  who  were  de- 
cidedly averse  to  her  studying  mathematics.  "Of  what 
use,"  they  asked,  "was  geometry  to  a  girl?"  But  in  try- 
ing to  extinguish  her  ardor  for  mathematics  they  but  aug- 
mented it.  Alone  and  unaided  she  read  every  work  on 
mathematics  she  could  find.  The  study  of  this  science  had 
such  a  fascination  for  her  that  it  became  a  passion.  It 
occupied  her  mind  day  and  night.  Finally  her  parents, 
becoming  alarmed  about  her  health  and  resolved  to  force 
her  to  take  the  necessary  repose,  left  her  bedroom  without 
fire  or  light,  and  even  removed  from  it  her  clothing  after 
she  had  gone  to  bed.  She  feigned  to  be  resigned ;  but  when 
all  were  asleep,  she  arose  and,  wrapping  herself  in  quilts 
and  blankets,  she  devoted  herself  to  her  favorite  studies, 
even  when  the  cold  was  so  intense  that  the  ink  was  frozen  in 
her  ink-horn.  Not  infrequently  she  was  found  in  the  morn- 
ing chilled  through,  having  been  so  engrossed  in  her  studies 
that  she  was  not  aware  of  her  condition.  Before  such  a 
determined  will,  so  extraordinary  for  one  of  her  age,  the 
family  of  the  young  Sophie  had  the  wisdom  to  permit  her 


WOMEN    IN    MATHEMATICS  155 

to  dispose  of  her  time  and  genius  according  to  her  own 
pleasure.  And  they  did  well.  Like  the  great  geometer  of 
Syracuse,  Archimedes,  who  had  ever  been  her  inspiration 
in  the  study  of  mathematics,  she  would  have  died  rather 
than  abandon  a  problem  which,  for  the  time  being,  en- 
gaged her  attention. 

She  first  attracted  the  attention  of  savants  by  her  mathe- 
matical theory  of  Chladni's  figures.  By  the  order  of  Na- 
poleon, the  Academy  of  Science  had  offered  a  prize  for  the 
one  who  would  "Give  the  mathematical  theory  of  the  vi- 
bration of  elastic  surfaces  and  compare  it  with  the  results 
of  experiment."  Lagrange  declared  the  problem  insoluble 
without  a  new  system  of  analysis,  which  was  yet  to  be  in- 
vented. The  consequence  was  that  no  one  attempted  it5? 
solution  except  one  who,  until  then,  was  almost  unknown 
in  the  mathematical  world;  and  this  one  was  Sophie  Ger- 
main. 

Great  was  the  surprise  of  the  savants  of  Europe  when 
they  learned  that  the  winner  of  the  grand  prix  of  the  Acad- 
emy was  a  woman.  She  became  at  once  the  recipient  of 
congratulations  from  the  most  noted  mathematicians  of  the 
world.  This  eventually  brought  her  into  scientific  rela- 
tions with  such  eminent  men  as  Delambre,  Fourier,  Cauchy, 
Ampere,  Navier,   Gauss1   and  others  already  mentioned. 

It  was  in  1816,  after  eight  years  of  work  on  the  problem, 
that  her  last  memoir  on  vibrating  surfaces  was  crowned  in 
a  public  seance  of  the  Institut  de  France.  After  this  event 
Mile.  Germain  was  treated  as  an  equal  by  the  great  mathe- 
maticians of  Prance.  She  shared  their  labors  and  was  in- 
vited to  attend  the  sessions  of  the  Institut,  which  was  the 
*At  the  beginning  of  her  correspondence  with  Gauss,  Legendre 
and  Lagrange  Mile.  Germain  concealed  her  sex  under  a  pseudonym, 
"in  order,"  as  she  declared,  "to  escape  the  ridicule  attached  to  a 
woman  devoted  to  science" — craignant  le  ridicule  attache  au  titre 
de  femme  savante.  She,  too,  suffered  from  the  wide-spread  effects 
of  Moliere's  Les  Femmes  Savantes,  as  had  many  a  gifted  woman 
before  her  time  and  as  have  many  others  of  a  much  later  date. 


156  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

highest  honor  that  this  famous  body  had  ever  conferred 
on  a  woman. 

The  noted  mathematician,  M.  Navier,  was  so  impressed 
with  the  extraordinary  powers  of  analysis  evinced  by  one 
of  Mile.  Germain's  memoirs  on  vibrating  surfaces  that  he 
did  not  hesitate  to  declare  that  "it  is  a  work  which  few 
men  are  able  to  read  and  which  only  one  woman  was  able 
to  write.' ' 

Biot,  in  the  Journal  de  Savants,  March,  1817,  writes  that 
Mile.  Germain  is  probably  the  one  of  her  sex  who  has  most 
deeply  penetrated  the  science  of  mathematics,  not  except- 
ing Mme.  du  Chatelet,  for  here  there  was  no  Clairaut.1 

Like  Maria  Gaetana  Agnesi,  Mile.  Germain  was  endowed 
with  a  profoundly  philosophical  mind  as  well  as  with  a 
remarkable  talent  for  mathematics.  This  is  attested  by  her 
interesting  work  entitled  Considerations  Generates  sur 
VEtat  des  Sciences  et  des  Lettres  aux  Differ entes  Epoques 
de  Leur  Culture.  All  things  considered,  she  was  probably 
the  most  profoundly  intellectual  woman  that  France  has 
yet  produced.  And  yet,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  when  the 
state  official  came  to  make  out  the  death  certificate  of  this 
eminent  associate  and  co-worker  of  the  most  illustrious 
members  of  the  French  Academy  of  Sciences  he  designated 
her  as  a  rentiere — annuitant — not  as  a  nmthematicienne. 
Nor  is  this  all.  When  the  Eiffel  tower  was  erected,  in 
which  the  engineers  were  obliged  to  give  special  attention 
to  the  elasticity  of  the  materials  used,  there  were  inscribed 
on  this  lofty  structure  the  names  of  seventy-two  savants. 
But  one  will  not  find  in  this  list  the  name  of  that  daughter 
of  genius,  whose  researches  contributed  so  much  toward 
establishing  the  theory  of  the  elasticity  of  metals, — Sophie 
Germain.  Was  she  excluded  from  this  list  for  the  same  rea- 
son that  Agnesi  was  ineligible  to  membership  in  the  French 

iThis  celebrated  mathematician,  as  is  well-known,  was  a  col- 
laborator with  Mme.  du  Chatelet  in  her  translation  of  Newton 's  Prin- 
cipia. 


WOMEN    IN    MATHEMATICS  157 

Academy — because  she  was  a  woman?  It  would  seem  so. 
If  such,  indeed,  was  the  case,  more  is  the  shame  for  those 
who  were  responsible  for  such  ingratitude  toward  one  who 
had  deserved  so  well  of  science,  and  who  by  her  achieve- 
ments had  won  an  enviable  place  in  the  hall  of  fame.1 

Four  years  after  the  birth  of  Sophie  Germain  was  born 
in  Jedburgh,  Scotland,  one  whom  an  English  writer  has 
declared  was  "the  most  remarkable  scientific  woman  our 
country  has  produced."  She  was  the  daughter  of  a  naval 
officer,  Sir  William  Fairfax;  but  is  best  known  as  Mary 
Somerville.  Her  life  has  been  well  described  as  an  "unob- 
trusive record  of  what  can  be  done  by  the  steady  culture 
of  good  natural  powers  and  the  pursuit  of  a  high  standard 
of  excellence  in  order  to  win  for  a  woman  a  distinguished 
place  in  the  sphere  naturally  reserved  for  men,  without 
parting  with  any  of  those  characteristics  of  mind,  or  char- 
acter, or  demeanor  which  have  ever  been  taken  to  form  the 
grace  and  the  glory  of  womanhood."  2 

The  surroundings  of  her  youth  were  not  conducive  to 
scientific  pursuits.  On  the  contrary,  they  were  entirely 
unfavorable  to  her  manifest  inclinations  in  that  direction. 
Having  scarcely  any  of  the  advantages  of  a  school  educa- 
tion, she  was  obliged  to  depend  almost  entirely  on  her  own 
unaided  efforts  for  the  knowledge  she  actually  acquired. 
She,  like  Sophie  Germain,  was  essentially  a  self-made 
woman ;  and  her  success  was  achieved  only  after  long  labor 
and  suffering  and  in  spite  of  the  persistent  opposition  of 
family  and  friends. 

i  For  further  information  respecting  this  remarkable  woman  the 
reader  is  referred  to  (Euvres  Philosophiques  de  Sophie  Germain  Sui- 
vies  de  Pensees  et  de  Lettres  Inedites  et  Precedees  d'une  Etude  sur 
sa  Vie  et  ses  (Euvres,  par.  H.  Stupy,  Paris,  1896.  One  may  also 
consult  Todhunter's  History  of  the  Theory  of  Elasticity  and  of  the 
Strength  of  Materials,  Vol.  I,  pp.  147-160,  Cambridge,  1886,  in  which 
is  given  a  careful  resume  of  Mile.  Germain's  mathematical  memoirs 
on  elastic  surfaces. 

2  Saturday  Beview,  January  10,  1874. 


158  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

"When  she  was  about  fifteen  years  old,  the  future  Mrs. 
Somerville  received  her  first  introduction  to  mathematics; 
and  then,  strange  to  say,  it  was  through  a  fashion  maga- 
zine. At  the  end  of  a  page  of  this  magazine,  "I  read," 
writes  Mrs.  Somerville,  ' l  what  appeared  to  me  to  be  simply 
an  arithmetical  question;  but  in  turning  the  page  I  was 
surprised  to  see  strange-looking  lines  mixed  with  letters, 
chiefly  X's  and  Y's,  and  asked  'What  is  that?'  "  She  was 
told  it  was  a  kind  of  arithmetic,  called  algebra. 

Her  interest  was  at  once  aroused;  and  she  resolved 
forthwith  to  seek  information  regarding  the  curious  lines 
and  letters  which  had  so  excited  her  curiosity.  ' '  Unfortu- 
nately," she  tells  us,  "none  of  our  acquaintances  or  rela- 
tives knew  anything  of  science  or  natural  history ;  nor,  had 
they  done  so,  should  I  have  had  courage  to  ask  of  them  a 
question,  for  I  should  have  been  laughed  at. ' ' 

Finally  she  was  able  to  secure  a  copy  of  a  work  on  alge- 
bra and  a  Euclid.  Although  without  a  teacher  she  imme- 
diately applied  herself  to  master  the  contents  of  these  two 
works,  but  she  had  to  do  so  by  stealth  in  bed  after  she  had 
retired  for  the  night.  "When  her  father  learned  of  what 
was  going  on,  he  said  to  the  girl's  mother,  "Peg,  we  must 
put  a  stop  to  this,  or  we  shall  have  Mary  in  a  straight- 
jacket  one  of  these  days."  The  mother,  who  had  no  more 
sympathy  with  her  daughter's  scientific  pursuits  than  had 
the  father,  and,  fully  convinced,  like  the  great  majority  of 
her  sex,  that  woman's  duties  should  be  confined  to  the  af- 
fairs of  the  household,  strove  to  divert  her  daughter's  mind 
from  her  "unladylike"  pursuits.  But  her  efforts  were  in- 
effectual. The  young  woman,  in  spite  of  all  obstacles  and 
opposition,  contrived  to  continue  her  cherished  studies; 
and,  through  her  uncle,  the  Eev.  Dr.  Somerville,  afterward 
her  father-in-law,  she  was  able  to  become  proficient  in  both 
Latin  and  Greek.  When  she  was  thirty-three  years  of  age 
she  became  the  happy  possessor  of  a  small  library  of  mathe- 
matical works.    "I  had  now,"  she  writes,  "the  means,  and 


WOMEN    IN    MATHEMATICS  159 

pursued  my  studies  with  increased  assiduity;  concealment 
was  no  longer  necessary,  nor  was  it  attempted.  I  was  con- 
sidered eccentric  and  foolish,  and  my  conduct  was  highly 
disapproved  of  by  many,  especially  by  some  members  of 
my  own  family. ' ' * 

In  March,  1827,  Mrs.  Somerville  received  a  letter  from 
Lord  Brougham,  who  had  heard  of  her  remarkable  acquire- 
ments, begging  her  to  prepare  for  English  readers  a  popu- 
lar exposition  of  Laplace 's  great  work — Mecanique  Celeste. 
She  was  overwhelmed  with  astonishment  at  this  request,  for 
her  modesty  made  her  diffident  of  her  powers ;  and  she  felt 
that  her  self-acquired  knowledge  of  science  was  so  far  in- 
ferior to  that  of  university  men  that  it  would  be  sheer  pre- 
sumption for  her  to  undertake  the  task  proposed  to  her. 
She  was,  however,  finally  persuaded  to  make  the  attempt, 
with  the  proviso  that  her  manuscript  should  be  consigned 
to  the  flames  unless  it  fulfilled  the  expectations  of  those 
who  urged  its  production. 

In  less  than  a  year  her  work,  to  which  she  gave  the  name 
of  The  Mechanism  of  the  Heavens,  was  ready  for  the  press. 
But  it  was  far  more  than  a  translation  and  epitome,  as 
originally  intended  by  its  projector,  Lord  Brougham;  for, 
in  addition  to  the  views  of  Laplace,  it  contained  the  inde- 
pendent opinions  of  the  translator  respecting  the  proposi- 
tions of  the  illustrious  French  savant.  No  sooner  was  the 
work  published  than  Mrs.  Somerville  found  herself  famous. 
She  had,  as  Sir  John  Herschel  expressed  it,  ''written  for 
posterity,"  and  her  book  placed  her  at  once  among  the 
leading  scientific  writers  and  thinkers  of  the  day.  She  was 
elected  an  honorary  member  of  the  Eoyal  Astronomical 
Society  at  the  same  time  as  Caroline  Herschel,  they  being 
the  first  two  women  thus  honored.  Her  bust,  by  Chantry, 
was  placed  in  the  great  hall  of  the  Royal  Society,  and  she 
was  made  a  member  of  many  other  scientific  societies  in  Eu- 

i  Personal  Recollections,  From  Early  Life  to  Old  Age,  of  Mary 
Somerville,  p.  80,  Boston,  1874. 


160  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

rope  and  America.  In  recognition  of  her  services  to  science 
she  was  granted  by  the  government  a  pension  of  £200  a  year 
— a  sum  which  was  shortly  afterward  increased  to  £300. 
In  addition  to  all  this,  Mrs.  Somerville  had  the  satisfaction 
of  learning  that  her  work  was  so  highly  esteemed  by  Dr. 
Whewell,  the  great  master  of  Trinity,  that  it  was,  chiefly 
on  his  recommendation,  introduced  as  a  text-book  in  the 
University  of  Cambridge  and  prescribed  as  "an  essential 
work  to  those  students  who  aspire  to  the  highest  places  in 
the  examinations."  What  Mme.  du  Chatelet  had  done  for 
Newton,  Mrs.  Somerville  did  for  Laplace. 

Among  other  books  from  the  pen  of  this  highly  gifted 
woman  is  her  Connection  of  the  Physical  Sciences  and  a 
work  entitled  Physical  Geography,  which,  together  with  the 
Mechanism  of  the  Heavens,  was  the  object  of  the  "profound 
admiration"  of  Humboldt.  Then  there  is  a  number  of 
very  abstruse  monographs  on  mathematical  subjects,  one 
of  which  is  a  treatise  of  two  hundred  and  "forty-six  pages 
On  Curves  and  Surfaces  of  Higher  Orders,  which,  she  tells 
us,  she  ' '  wrote  con  amore  to  fill  up  her  morning  hours  while 
spending  the  winter  in  Southern  Italy. ' ' 

Her  last  work  was  a  treatise  On  Molecular  and  Micro- 
scopic Science  embodying  the  most  recondite  investigations 
on  the  subject.  This  book,  begun  after  she  had  passed  her 
eightieth  birthday,  occupied  her  for  many  years  and  was 
not  ready  for  publication  until  she  was  close  upon  her 
ninetieth  year.  Her  last  occupations,  continued  until  the 
day  of  her  death  at  the  advanced  age  of  ninety-two,  were 
the  reading  of  a  book  on  Quaternions  and  the  review  and 
completion  of  a  volume  On  the  Theory  of  Differences. 

Like  her  illustrious  friend,  the  great  Humboldt,  Mary 
Somerville  was  possessed  of  extraordinary  physical  vigor, 
and,  like  him,  she  retained  her  mental  powers  unimpaired 
until  the  last.  And  like  her  great  rival  in  mathematics, 
Maria  Gaetana  Agnesi,  she  was  always  "beautifully  wom- 
anly."    Her  scientific  and  literary  occupations  did  not 


WOMEN    IN    MATHEMATICS  161 

cause  her  to  neglect  the  duties  of  her  household  or  to  disre- 
gard "the  graceful  and  artistic  accomplishments  of  an  ele- 
gant woman  of  the  world.' '  Her  daughter  Martha  writes 
of  her:  "It  would  be  almost  incredible  were  I  to  describe 
how  much  my  mother  contrived  to  do  in  the  course  of  the 
day.  "When  my  sister  and  I  were  small  children,  although 
busily  engaged  in  writing  for  the  press,  she  used  to  teach 
us  for  three  hours  in  the  morning,  besides  managing  her 
house  carefully,  reading  the  newspapers — for  she  was  al- 
ways a  keen  and,  I  must  add,  a  liberal  politician — and  the 
most  important  new  books  on  all  subjects,  grave  and  gay. 
In  addition  to  this,  she  freely  visited  and  received  her 
friends.  .  .  .  Gay  and  cheerful  company  was  a  pleas- 
ant relaxation  after  a  hard  day 's  work. ' ' * 

The  life  of  Mary  Somerville,  like  that  of  Gaetana  Agnesi, 
proves  that  the  pursuit  of  science  is  not,  as  so  often  as- 
serted, incompatible  with  domestic  and  social  duties.  It 
also  disposes  of  the  fallacy,  so  generally  entertained,  that 
intellectual  labor  is  detrimental  to  the  health  of  women  and 
antagonistic  to  longevity.  The  truth  is  that  it  is  yet  to  be 
demonstrated  that  intellectual  work,  even  of  the  severest 
kind,  is,  per  se,  more  deleterious  to  women  than  to  those  of 
the  stronger  sex. 

Scarcely  less  remarkable  as  a  mathematician  was  Mrs. 
Somerville 's  distinguished  contemporary,  Janet  Taylor, 
who  was  known  as  the  "Mrs.  Somerville  of  the  Marine 
World. ' '  She  was  the  author  of  numerous  works  on  navi- 
gation and  nautical  astronomy  which  in  their  day  were 
highly  prized  by  seafaring  men.  In  recognition  of  her 
valuable  services  to  the  marine  world  she  was  placed  on 
the  civil  list  of  the  British  government. 

As  an  eminent  mathematician  as  well  as  a  "representa- 
tive of  the  highest  intellectual  accomplishments  to  which 
women  have  attained, ' '  Sonya  Kovalevsky  will  ever  occupy 
an  honored  place  among  the  votaries  of  science.    In  many 

i  Personal  Recollections,  ut  sup.,  p.  5. 


162  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

respects  this  richly  endowed  daughter  of  Holy  Russia  was 
par  excellence  the  woman  of  genius  of  the  latter  half  of  the 
nineteenth  century. 

She  was  born  in  Moscow  in  1850,  but  although  her  career 
was  brief  it  was  one  of  meteoric  splendor.  At  an  early  age 
she  exhibited  an  unusual  talent  for  mathematics  and  an  un- 
quenchable thirst  for  knowledge.  Not  being  able  to  obtain 
in  her  own  country  the  educational  advantages  she  desired, 
she  resolved  at  the  age  of  eighteen  to  go  to  Germany  with 
a  view  of  pursuing  her  studies  there  under  more  favorable 
auspices. 

She  first  matriculated  in  the  University  of  Heidelberg, 
where  she  spent  two  years  in  studying  mathematics  under 
the  most  eminent  professors  of  that  famous  old  institution. 
Thence  she  went  to  Berlin.  She  could  not  enter  the  Uni- 
versity there,  as  its  doors  were  closed  to  female  students; 
but  she  was  fortunate  enough  to  prevail  on  the  illustrious 
Professor  Weierstrass,  regarded  by  many  as  the  father  of 
mathematical  analysis,  to  give  her  private  lessons.  He  soon 
discovered  to  his  astonishment  that  this  child-woman  had 
"the  gift  of  intuitive  genius  to  a  degree  he  had  seldom 
found  among  even  his  older  and  more  developed  students. ' ' 
Under  this  eminent  mathematician  Sonya  spent  about  three 
years,  at  the  end  of  which  period  she  was  able  to  present  to 
the  University  of  Gottingen  three  theses  which  she  had 
written  under  the  direction  of  her  professor.  The  merit  of 
her  work  and  the  testimonials  which  she  was  able  to  pre- 
sent from  Weierstrass,  Kirchhoff  and  others  were  of  such 
supreme  excellence  that  she  was  exempted  from  an  oral 
examination  and  was  enabled,  by  a  very  special  privilege, 
to  receive  her  doctorate  without  appearing  in  person. 

Not  long  after  receiving  her  doctor's  degree — one  of  the 
first  to  be  granted  to  a  woman  by  a  German  university — ■ 
she  was  offered  the  chair  of  higher  mathematics  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Stockholm.    She  was  the  first  woman  in  Europe, 


WOMEN    IN    MATHEMATICS  163 

outside  of  Italy,  to  be  thus  honored.  But  her  appointment 
had  to  be  made  in  the  face  of  great  opposition.  No  other 
university,  it  was  urged  by  the  conservatives,  had  yet 
offered  a  professor's  chair  to  a  woman.  Strindberg,  one 
of  the  leaders  of  modern  Swedish  literature,  wrote  an  ar- 
ticle in  which  he  proved,  "as  decidedly  as  that  two  and  two 
make  four,  what  a  monstrosity  is  a  woman  who  is  a  pro- 
fessor of  mathematics,  and  how  unnecessary,  injurious  and 
out  of  place  she  is." * 

The  fame  that  came  to  Sonya  through  her  achievements 
in  the  German  and  Swedish  universities  was  immensely  en- 
hanced when,  on  Christmas  eve,  1888,  * '  at  a  solemn  session 
of  the  French  Academy  of  Sciences,  she  received  in  person 
the  Prix  Bordin — the  greatest  scientific  honor  which  any 
woman  had  ever  gained ;  one  of  the  greatest  honors,  indeed, 
to  which  any  one  can  aspire. ' ' 

She  became  at  once  the  heroine  of  the  hour  and  was 
thenceforth  "a  European  celebrity  with  a  place  in  his- 
tory.' '  She  was  feted  by  men  of  science  whithersoever  she 
went  and  hailed  by  the  women  of  the  world  as  the  glory  of 
her  sex  and  as  the  most  brilliant  type  of  intellectual  wom- 
anhood. 

Mme.  Kovalevsky's  printed  mathematical  works  embrace 
only  a  few  memoirs  including  those  which  she  presented 
for  her  doctorate  and  for  the  Prix  Bordin.  But  brief  as 
they  are,  all  of  these  memoirs  are  regarded  by  mathemati- 
cians as  being  of  special  value.  This  is  particularly  true  of 
the  memoirs,  which  secured  for  her  the  Prix  Bordin;  for  it 
contains  the  solution  of  a  problem  that  long  had  baffled  the 
genius  of  the  greatest  mathematicians. 

The  prize  had  been  opened  to  the  competition  of  the 
mathematicians  of  the  world,  and  the  astonishment  of  the 
committee  of  the  French  Academy  was  beyond  expression 

i  Sonya  KovalevsJcy,  Her  Recollections  of  Childhood,  With  a 
Biography,  by  Anna  Carlotta  Leffler,  p.  219,  New  York,  1895. 


164  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

when  it  was  found  that  the  successful  contestant  was  a 
woman.1 

Everyone  admired  her  varied  and  profound  knowledge, 
but,  above  all,  her  amazing  powers  of  analysis.  A  German 
mathematician,  Kronecker,  did  not  hesitate  to  declare  that 
"the  history  of  mathematics  will  speak  of  her  as  one  of 
the  rarest  investigators. '  ? 2 

Shortly  before  her  premature  death,  she  had  planned  a 
great  work  on  mathematics.  All  who  are  interested  in  the 
intellectual  capacities  and  achievements  of  woman  must 
regret  that  she  was  unable  to  complete  what  would  un- 
doubtedly have  been  the  noblest  monument  of  woman's 
scientific  genius.  She  was  then  in  the  prime  of  life  and 
perfectly  equipped  for  the  work  she  had  in  mind.  Consid- 
ering the  extraordinary  receptive  and  productive  power  of 
this  richly  dowered  woman,  there  can  be  little  doubt,  had 
she  lived  a  few  years  longer,  that  she  would  have  produced 
a  work  that  would  have  caused  her  to  be  ranked  among  the 
greatest  mathematicians  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

i ' '  The  prize  was  doubled  to  five  thousand  francs,  on  account  of 
the  '  quite  extraordinary  service  rendered  to  mathematical  physics 
by  this  work,'  which  the  Academy  of  Sciences  pronounced  'a,  re- 
markable work.'  The  competing  dissertations  were  signed  with  mot- 
toes, not  with  names,  and  the  jury  of  the  Academy  made  the  award 
in  utter  ignorance  that  the  winner  was  a  woman.  Her  dissertation 
was  printed,  by  order  of  the  Academy,  in  the  Memoires  des  Savants 
Etrangers.  In  the  following  year  Mme.  Kovalevsky  received  a  prize 
of  fifteen  hundred  kroner  from  the  Stockholm  Academy  for  two 
works  connected  with  the  foregoing." 

2  Men  of  science  will  realize  the  capacity  of  this  gifted  Eussian 
woman  as  a  mathematician  when  they  learn  that  she  gave  in  the 
University  of  Stockholm  courses  of  lectures  on  such  subjects  as  the 
following : 

Theory  of  derived  partial  equations;  theory  of  potential  func- 
tions; applications  of  the  theory  of  elliptic  functions;  theory  of 
Abelian  functions,  according  to  Weierstrass;  curves  defined  by  differ- 
ential equations,  according  to  Poincare;  application  of  analysis  to  the 
theory  of  whole  numbers.  How  many  men  are  there  who  give  more 
advanced  mathematical  courses  than  these? 


WOMEN    IN    MATHEMATICS  165 

It  is  pleasant  to  record  that  this  woman  of  masculine 
mind,  masculine  energy  and  masculine  genius,  far  from 
being  mannish  or  unwomanly,  was,  on  the  contrary,  a 
woman  of  a  truly  feminine  heart;  and  that,  although  a 
giantess  in  intellectual  attainments,  she  was  in  grace  and 
charm  and  delicacy  of  sentiment  one  of  the  noblest  types  of 
beautiful  womanhood.  She  could  with  the  greatest  ease 
turn  from  a  lecture  on  Abel's  Functions  or  a  research  on 
Saturn's  rings  to  the  writing  of  verse  in  French  or  of  a 
novel  in  Russian  or  to  collaborating  with  her  friend,  the 
Duchess  of  Cajanello,  on  a  drama  in  Swedish,  or  to  making 
a  lace  collar  for  her  little  daughter,  Fouzi,  to  whom  she  was 
most  tenderly  attached.1 

Little  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  has  elapsed  since 
Strindberg,  expressing  the  sentiment  of  the  great  majority 
of  the  men  of  his  time,  declared  that  a  woman  professor  of 

i  To  a  friend,  who  expressed  surprise  at  her  fluttering  to  and 
fro  between  mathematics  and  literature,  she  made  a  reply  which  de- 
serves a  place  here,  as  it  gives  a  better  idea  than  anything  else  of 
the  wonderful  versatility  of  this  gifted  daughter  of  Eussia.  "I 
understand,"  she  writes,  "your  surprise  at  my  being  able  to  busy 
myself  simultaneously  with  literature  and  mathematics.  Many 
who  have  never  had  an  opportunity  of  knowing  any  more  about 
mathematics  confound  it  with  arithmetic,  and  consider  it  an  arid 
science.  In  reality,  however,  it  is  a  science  which  requires  a  great 
amount  of  imagination,  and  one  of  the  leading  mathematicians  of  our 
century  states  the  case  quite  correctly  when  he  says  that  it  is  im- 
possible to  be  a  mathematician  without  being  a  poet  in  soul.  Only, 
of  course,  in  order  to  comprehend  the  accuracy  of  this  definition, 
one  must  renounce  the  ancient  prejudice  that  a  poet  must  invent 
something  which  does  not  exist,  that  imagination  and  invention  are 
identical.  It  seems  to  me  that  the  poet  has  only  to  perceive  that 
which  others  do  not  perceive,  to  look  deeper  than  others  look.  And 
the  mathematician  must  do  the  same  thing.  As  for  myself,  all  my 
life  I  have  been  unable  to  decide  for  which  I  had  the  greater  inclina- 
tion, mathematics  or  literature.  As  soon  as  my  brain  grows  wearied 
of  purely  abstract  speculations  it  immediately  begins  to  incline  to 
observations  on  life,  to  narrative,  and  vice  versa,  everything  in  life 
begins    to    appear    insignificant    and    uninteresting,    and    only    the 


166  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

mathematics  is  a  monstrosity.  But  during  this  short  period 
what  a  change  has  been  effected  in  the  attitude  of  the  world 
toward  women  who  devote  themselves  to  the  study  and  the 
teaching  of  science!  Women  mathematicians  are  found 
to-day  in  all  civilized  countries,  and  no  sane  person  now 
considers  it  any  more  "unwomanly"  or  more  " monstrous' ' 
for  them  to  study  or  teach  mathematics  than  for  them  to 
teach  music  or  needlework.  Yet  more.  They  are  now  fre- 
quent contributors  to  mathematical  magazines  and  to  the 
official  bulletins  of  learned  societies,  and  not  infrequently 
they  are  on  the  editorial  staffs  of  publications  devoted  ex- 
clusively to  mathematics.  They  are  also  found  as  comput- 
ers in  some  of  the  largest  astronomical  observatories,  where 
the  speed  and  accuracy  of  their  work  have  evoked  the  most 
favorable  comment. 

Of  women  in  America,  who  have  distinguished  them- 
selves by  their  work  in  the  higher  mathematics,  it  suffices  to 
mention  the  name  of  Miss  Charlotte  Angas  Scott,  r-ooontly 
deceased,  who  was  for  years  professor  of  mathematics  in 
the  College  of  Bryn  Mawr.  Her  writings  on  various  prob- 
lems of  the  higher  mathematics  show  that  she  faithfully 
followed  in  the  footsteps  of  her  illustrious  predecessors, — 
Hypatia,  Agnesi,  du  Chatelet,  Germain,  Somerville  and 
Kovalevsky. 

eternal,  immutable  laws  of  science  attract  me.  It  is  very  possible 
that  I  should  have  accomplished  more  in  either  of  these  lines,  if  I 
had  devoted  myself  exclusively  to  it;  nevertheless,  I  cannot  give 
up  either  of  them  completely. ' ' 

From  Ellen  Key's  Biography  of  the  Duchess  of  Cajanello,  quoted 
in  Anna  Leffler's  biography  of  Sonya  Kovalevsky,  ut  sup,  pp.  317-318. 


CHAPTER   IV 

WOMEN   IN   ASTEONOMY 

Urania,  the  muse  of  astronomy,  was  a  woman;  and,  al- 
though most  of  her  devotees  have  been  men,  the  number  of 
the  gentler  sex  who  have  achieved  success  in  the  cultivation 
of  the  science  of  the  stars  has  been  much  larger  than  is 
usually  supposed. 

There  is  reason  to  believe  that  woman's  interest  in  as- 
tronomy dates  back  to  early  Egyptian  and  Babylonian 
times  when  the  star-gazers  in  the  fertile  valley  of  the 
Nile  and  on  the  broad  plains  of  Chaldea  were  so  active,  and 
when  they  made  so  many  important  discoveries  respecting 
the  laws  and  movements  of  the  heavenly  bodies.  According 
to  Plutarch,  Aganice,  the  daughter  of  Sesostris,  King  of 
Egypt,  tried  to  predict  future  events  by  the  aid  of  celes- 
tial globes  and  by  the  study  of  the  constellations.  Her  ob- 
servations, however,  were  in  the  interests  of  astrology 
rather  than  of  astronomy,  as  we  now  understand  the 
science. 

The  first  woman  whose  name  has  come  down  to  us,  who 
deserved  to  be  regarded  as  an  astronomer,  was  most  prob- 
ably Aglaonice,  the  daughter  of  Hegetoris  of  Thessaly.  By 
means  of  the  lunar  cycle  known  as  the  Saros,  a  period  dis- 
covered by  the  Chaldean  astronomers  and  embracing  a  lit- 
tle more  than  eighteen  years,  during  which  the  eclipses  of 
the  moon  and  sun  recur  in  nearly  the  same  order  as  dur- 
ing the  preceding  period,  this  Greek  woman  was  able  to 
predict  eclipses.  The  people  among  whom  she  lived  re- 
garded her  as  a  sorceress ;  but  she  flouted  them  all,  and  de- 

167 


168  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

clared  that  she  was  able  to  make  the  sun  and  moon  disap- 
pear at  will. 

The  first  woman,  however,  to  attain  eminence  as  an  as- 
tronomer was  undoubtedly  Hypatia,  that  universal  genius 
of  the  ancient  world,  who  seemed  equally  at  home  in  litera- 
ture, philosophy  and  mathematics,  and  who  may  justly  be 
regarded  as  one  of  the  most  highly  gifted  women  that  has 
ever  lived.  In  Alexandria,  where  she  was  born  and  lived, 
this  accomplished  daughter  of  Theon  taught  not  only  phi- 
losophy, but  also  algebra,  geometry  and  astronomy.  One 
of  her  pupils,  Synesius,  who  became  Bishop  of  Ptolemais, 
informs  us  that  she  was  the  inventor  of  two  important  as- 
tronomical instruments:  an  astrolabe  and  a  planisphere. 
In  addition  to  two  mathematical  works,  a  Treatise  on  the 
Conies  of  Apollonius  and  a  Commentary  on  the  Arithmetic 
of  Diophantus,  which  was  in  reality  a  treatise  on  algebra, 
she  was  the  author  of  an  Astronomical  Canon,  which  con- 
tained tables  regarding  the  movements  of  the  heavenly 
bodies.  It  is  generally  supposed  that  this  was  an  original 
work ;  but  there  are  some  who  think  it  was  but  a  commen- 
tary on  the  tables  of  Ptolemy.  In  this  latter  case  Hypatia 's 
work  may  still  exist  in  connection  with  that  of  her  father, 
Theon,  on  the  same  subject.1 

If  the  works  of  Hypatia  had  not  been  destroyed  by  the 
ravages  of  time,  they  would  undoubtedly  prove  that  she 
fully  merited  all  the  encomiums  bestowed  on  her  by  an- 
tiquity for  her  genius;  and  they  would  also  prove,  we  may 
well  believe,  that  she  deserved  to  be  ranked  not  only  with 
the  eminent  mathematicians  upon  whose  works  she  com- 
mented, but  also  with  such  masters  of  astronomic  science 
as  Ptolemy,  Eratosthenes  and  Aristarchus. 

After  the  tragic  death  of  Hypatia  many  centuries  elapsed 
before  any  other  woman  attracted  attention  for  her  work 
in  astronomy.    Indeed,  so  neglected  was  the  study  of  the 

i  Cf .  the  preceding  chapter,  p.  140.  See  also  Histoire  de  I  'As- 
tronomie  Ancienne,  Tom.  I,  p.  317,  par.  M.  Delambre,  Paris,  1817. 


WOMEN    IN    ASTRONOMY  169 

heavens  between  the  time  of  Hypatia  and  the  Arab  prince 
and  astronomer,  Albategni,  who  flourished  during  the  lat- 
ter part  of  the  ninth  century  and  the  early  part  of  the 
tenth,  that  only  eight  observations,  it  is  asserted,  were  re- 
corded during  this  long  period.  The  works  and  observa- 
tions of  Albategni,  it  may  be  remarked,  have  a  particular 
interest  from  the  fact  that  they  form  a  connecting  link 
between  those  of  the  Alexandrine  astronomers  and  those 
of  modern  Europe. 

Antoine  Hamilton,  in  his  Gaufrey — a  parody  on  The 
Thousand  and  One  Nights — tells  of  a  Saracen  princess, 
Fleur  d'fipine,  who,  before  she  was  fifteen  years  of  age, 
was  able  not  only  to  speak  Latin  and  Romance,  but  who 
was  also  "better  acquainted  than  any  woman  in  the  world 
with  the  movements  of  the  stars  and  the  moon.,, 

"Et  du  cours  des  etoiles  et  de  la  lune  luisant 
Savoit  moult   plus  que  fame  de  chest   siecle  vivant." 

If  any  woman  between  the  time  of  Hypatia  and  Galileo 
deserved  such  high  praise  for  her  astronomical  knowledge 
it  was  certainly  Saint  Hildegard,  the  famous  Benedictine 
abbess  of  Bingen  on  the  Rhine.  She  has  well  been  called 
"the  marvel  of  the  twelfth  century,"  not  only  on  account 
of  her  sanctity,  but  also  on  account  of  her  extraordinary 
attainments  in  every  branch  of  knowledge  then  cultivated. 

When  treating  of  the  sun,  Hildegard  tells  us  that  it  is  in 
the  center  of  the  firmament  and  holds  in  place  the  stars  that 
gravitate  around  it,  as  the  earth  attracts  the  creatures 
which  inhabit  it.  This  view  of  a  twelfth  century  nun  is 
indeed  remarkable.  For,  in  her  time,  the  earth  was  by 
everyone  considered  as  the  center  of  the  firmament,  while 
universal  gravitation — the  sublime  discovery  of  Newton — 
had  not  as  yet  entered  into  the  scientific  theories  of  that 
epoch, 

Hildegard  likewise  anticipates  subsequent  discoveries  re- 
garding the  alternation  of  the  seasons.    "If,"  she  writes, 


170  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

"  it  is  cold  in  the  winter  time  on  the  part  of  the  earth  which 
we  inhabit,  the  other  part  must  be  warm,  in  order  that  the 
temperature  of  the  earth  may  always  be  in  equilibrium." 
That  she  should  have  arrived  at  this  conclusion  before  nav- 
igators had  visited  the  southern  hemisphere  is  truly  aston- 
ishing.1 

"The  stars/'  she  continues,  "have  neither  the  same 
brightness  nor  the  same  size.  They  are  kept  in  their  course 
by  a  superior  body."  Here  again  is  her  idea  of  universal 
gravitation. 

These  stars,  she  further  declares,  are  not  immovable,  but 
they  traverse  the  firmament  in  its  entirety.  And  to  make 
clearer  her  conception  of  the  motion  of  the  stars,  she  com- 
pares this  motion  to  that  of  the  blood  in  the  veins.  To 
hear  one  of  this  early  period  speaking  of  blood  coursing 
through  the  veins  and  thus  traversing  the  whole  body  of 
man  seems  to  presage,  in  a  remarkable  manner,  the  beauti- 
ful discoveries  of  Cesalpino  and  Harvey  regarding  the  cir- 
culation of  the  blood. 

The  most  celebrated  astronomer  of  the  early  Renaissance 
was  John  Muller,  of  Konigsburg,  better  known  as  Regio- 
montanus.  In  his  observatory  in  Nuremberg  he  was  ably 
assisted  by  his  wife  who  exhibited  a  special  interest  in  as- 
tronomy. At  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century,  Sophia 
Brahe,  the  youngest  sister  of  Tycho  Brahe,  following  in  the 
footsteps  of  her  illustrious  brother,  attained  great  celebrity 
as  an  astronomer. 

More  distinguished  for  her  astronomical  work  than  either 
of  these  two  women  was  Maria  Cunitz,  a  Silesian,  who,  from 
her  tenderest  years,  displayed  extraordinary  zeal  for  study 
and  who  eventually  became  mistress  of  seven  languages, 

i '  *  Calor  etiam  solis  in  hieme  maior  est  sub  terra  quam  super 
terrain,  quod  si  tunc  frigus  tantum  esset  sub  terra  quam  super  ter- 
rain, vel  si  in  aestate  calor  tantus  esset  sub  terra  quantus  est  super 
terram,  de  immoderatione  ista  terra  tota  scinderetur. ' '  Eildegardis 
Causce  et  Cured,  p.  7,  Lipsiae,  1903. 


WOMEN    IN    ASTRONOMY  171 

among  which  were  Latin,  Greek  and  Hebrew.  She  also 
cultivated  poetry,  music  and  painting;  but  her  favorite 
studies  were  mathematics  and  astronomy.  At  the  solicita- 
tion of  her  husband,  she  undertook  the  preparation  of  an 
abridgment  of  the  Budolphine  Tables.  Her  work,  under 
the  name  of  Urania  Propitia,  was  published  after  her  death 
by  her  husband,  and  gained  for  the  talented  authoress  the 
name  of  ' '  The  second  Hypatia. ' ' * 

Shortly  after  the  completion  of  Urania  Propitia,  a 
French  woman,  Jeanne  Dumee,  distinguished  herself  by 
writing  a  work  on  the  theory  of  Copernicus  entitled  Entre- 
tiens  sur  V Opinion  de  Copemic  Touchant  la  Mobilite  de  la 
Terre.  So  far  as  known,  this  work  was  never  published, 
but  the  original  manuscript  is  still  preserved  in  the  Na- 
tional Library  of  Paris.  The  authoress  deems  it  necessary 
it  apologize  for  writing  on  a  subject  that  is  usually  consid- 
ered foreign  to  her  sex  and  to  explain  why  she  was  ambi- 
tious to  discuss  questions  to  which  the  women  of  her  time 
never  gave  any  thought.  It  was  that  she  might  • '  prove  to 
them  that  they  are  not  incapable  of  study,  if  they  wish  to 
make  the  effort,  because  between  the  brain  of  a  woman  and 
that  of  a  man  there  is  no  difference. '  * 2 

How  often  before  had  not  women  endeavored  to  prove  the 
equality  of  brain  power  of  the  two  sexes,  and  how  often  since 
have  they  bent  their  efforts  in  this  direction !  And  yet  the 
majority  of  men  still  remain  skeptical  about  such  equality. 

Among  the  contemporaries  of  Jeanne  Dumee  were  two 
other  women  who  gained  more  than  ordinary  distinction  by 
their  attainments  in  astronomy.  These  were  Mme.  de  la 
Sabliere,in  France,  and  Maria  Margaret  Kirch,  of  Germany. 

1  Commentaire  de  Theon  d'Alexandrie,  p.  X,  translated  by  the 
Abbe  Halma,  Paris,  1882. 

2 ' '  Enfin  de  leur  f  aire  connoistre  qu  'elles  ne  sont  pas  incapable 
de  l'estude,  si  elles  s'en  vouloient  donner  la  peine  puisqu'entre  le 
cerveau  d'une  femme  et  celui  d'un  homme  il  n'y  a  aucune  differ- 
ence." Cf.  Journal  de  Savans,  Tom.  Ill,  p.  304,  a  Amsterdam,  1687. 


172  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

Mme.  de  la  Sabliere  evinced  from  an  early  age  a  special 
aptitude  for  science,  especially  for  physics  and  astronomy. 
She  studied  mathematics  under  the  eminent  mathemati- 
cian, Roberval,  and  at  the  age  of  thirty  was  famous.  Her 
home  became  the  resort  of  learned  and  eminent  men,  in- 
cluding some  of  the  most  noted  characters  of  the  age. 
Among  these  was  Sobieski,  King  of  Poland.  But  it  is  as 
the  friend  and  protectress  of  La  Fontaine  and  as  the  object 
of  Boileau  's  satire  that  she  is  best  known. 

For  a  woman  to  devote  herself  to  the  study  of  science  so 
soon  after  the  appearance  of  Moliere's  Les  Femmes  8a- 
vantes  argued  more  than  ordinary  courage.  But  for  her  to 
become  distinguished  for  her  scientific  acquirements  was  al- 
most tantamount  to  defying  public  opinion.  The  great 
majority  of  men  had  come  to  regard  learned  women  in  the 
same  light  as  those  who  were  so  mercilessly  derided  in  the 
Precieuses  Ridicules;  and  they  had,  accordingly,  no  hesita- 
tion in  treating  them  as  unbearable  pedants.  No  one  could 
have  made  less  parade  of  her  learning  than  Mme.  de  la 
Sabliere,  or  striven  more  successfully  to  conceal  her  admir- 
able gifts.  But  this  was  not  sufficient.  She  was  known  to 
have  devoted  special  study  to  science,  particularly  to  as- 
tronomy, and  this  was  sufficient  to  make  her  the  target  of 
the  satirists  of  her  time. 

By  an  act  that  wounded  the  self-love  of  Boileau  this 
Venus  Urania,  as  she  has  been  called,  soon  found  herself 
the  victim  of  the  satirist's  well-directed  shafts.  The  poet 
does  not  name  her,  but  refers  to  her  as 

"Cette  savante 
Qu'estime  Roberval  et  que  Sauveur  frequente " 


this  learned  woman  whom  Roberval  esteems  and  whom 
Sauveur  frequents.  And  with  the  view  of  pricking  the  ob- 
ject of  his  spleen  in  her  most  sensitive  part,  he  tells,  in  his 
Satire  contre  les  Femmes,  how  she,  with  astrolabe  in  hand, 
spends  her  nights  in  making  observations  of  the  planet 


WOMEN    IN    ASTRONOMY  173 

Jupiter  and  how  this  occupation  has  had  the  effect  of 
weakening  her  sight  and  ruining  her  complexion.1 

Mme.  de  la  Sabliere  does  not,  however,  seem  to  have  been 
greatly  perturbed  by  the  ungracious  effusions  of  the  satir- 
ist, for  she  continued  her  cultivation  of  astronomy  as  be- 
fore the  poet's  ill-natured  outburst.  She  probably  found 
ample  compensation  in  the  writings  of  La  Fontaine,  who 
addressed  her  as  his  muse  and  proclaimed  her  as  one  in 
whom  were  combined  manly  beauty  and  feminine  grace — 
heaute  d'homme  avec  grace  de  femme. 

Maria  Kirch,  born  at  Panitch,  near  Leipsic,  in  1670,  was 
the  wife  of  a  Berlin  astronomer,  Gottfried  Kirch.  After 
her  marriage  she,  like  her  three  sisters-in-law,  became  her 
husband's  pupil  in  astronomy.  In  1702,  as  his  assistant  in 
observations  and  calculations,  she  was  fortunate  enough  to 
discover  a  comet.  She  was  the  friend  of  Leibnitz,  and  was 
by  him  presented  to  the  court  of  Prussia.  It  is  a  matter  of 
regret  to  those  of  her  own  sex  that  this  comet  was  not,  as  it 
should  have  been,  named  after  its  discoverer. 

The  death  of  Herr  Kirch,  which  took  place  in  1710, 
caused  no  interruption  in  Frau  Kirch's  astronomical  occu- 
pations. Among  the  evidences  of  her  activity  is  a  work 
which  she  wrote  in  1713  on  the  conjunction  of  Jupiter  and 
Saturn  in  the  year  following.  In  our  day  the  conjunction 
of  planets  is  for  the  laity  a  mere  matter  of  curiosity, 
while  for  professional  astronomers  it  is  quite  devoid  of 
particular  interest.  But  it  was  not  so  in  the  time  of  Maria 
Kirch,  for  then  astronomy  was  so  intimately  associated  with 
astrology  that  mankind  attributed  \o  such  special  positions 
of  the  planets  a  certain  occult  and  capricious  influence  on 
the  destiny  of  the  earth  and  its  inhabitants.  As  theoretical 
astronomy  progressed,  such  erroneous  notions  were  aban- 

iD'ou  vient  qu'elle  a  l'oeil  trouble  et  le  teint  si  terni? 
C'est  que  sur  le  calcul,  dit-on,  de  Cassini, 
Un  astrolabe  a  la  main,  elle  a,  dans  la  gouttiere, 
A  suivre  Jupiter  passe  la  nuit  entiere. 


174  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

cloned,  because  it  was  then  recognized  that  the  conjunction 
of  the  superior  planets  was  not  something  fortuitous,  but 
something  that  was  reproduced  at  fixed  periods  by  the 
known  movements  of  these  bodies.  Writers  on  the  subject 
made  it  a  point  to  warn  the  public  that  they  had  nothing 
in  common  with  astrologers.  Among  these  was  Christopher 
Thurm,  who  published  a  work  on  the  conjunction  of  Jupi- 
ter and  Saturn  in  1681.  Similarly,  the  book  of  Maria  Kirch 
contains  only  astronomical  calculations  and  nothing  more — 
a  fact  that  redounds  to  the  honor  of  the  author  and  to  the 
age  in  which  she  lived. 

The  daughters  of  Maria  Kirch,  even  long  after  their 
mother's  death,  continued  to  occupy  themselves  with  as- 
tronomy. They  calculated  for  the  Berlin  Academy  of  Sci- 
ences its  Almanac  and  Epkemeris,  which  were  among  the 
sources  of  revenue  of  this  learned  body. 

During  the  same  period  a  number  of  French  and  Italian 
astronomers  had  female  collaborators  in  their  own  families. 
Celsus,  the  celebrated  professor  of  Upsala,  and  a  pupil  of 
the  son  of  Gottfried  Kirch,  had  been  accorded  a  most  cor- 
dial reception,  while  passing  through  Paris  on  his  way  to 
Bologna,  by  De  L  'Isle  who  had  a  sister  who  was  devoted  to 
astronomy.  On  his  arrival  in  Italy  he  found  that  his  new 
master,  the  director  of  the  observatory  at  Bologna,  had  two 
sisters,  Teresa  and  Maddalena,  both  of  great  learning,  who, 
like  their  brother,  were  engaged  in  the  study  of  the  heavens 
and  collaborated  with  him  in  the  preparation  of  the  Epkem- 
eris of  Bologna.  This  caused  Celsus,  in  a  letter  to  Kirch,  to 
declare  "I  begin  to  believe  that  it  is  the  destiny  of  all  the 
astronomers  whom  I  have  had  the  honor  of  becoming  ac- 
quainted with  during  my  journey  to  have  learned  sisters. 
I  have  also  a  sister,  although  not  a  very  learned  one.  To 
preserve  the  harmony,  we  must  make  an  astronomer  of 
her."1 

i"Celebre  inter  observatores  hujus  aevi  nomen  adeptus  est  God- 
fredus  Kirehius,  astronomus  xmper  regius  in  Societate  Scienciarum 


WOMEN    IN    ASTRONOMY  175 

The  Polish  astronomer,  Hevilius,  who  had  an  observatory 
at  Dantzig,  is  noted  for  having  made  the  most  accurate 
observations  that  had  been  known  before  the  adaptation  of 
the  telescope  to  astronomical  instruments.  He  is  also  noted 
for  his  Prodromus  Astronomice,  a  catalogue  of  1,888  stars; 
for  his  Selenographia,  containing  accurate  descriptions  and 
drawings  of  the  moon  in  her  different  phases  and  librations, 
and  for  his  Machina  Ccelestis,  which  contained  the  results 
of  forty  years  of  observations  and  labor.  Much  of  his  suc- 
cess and  eminence,  however,  was  due  to  his  intelligent  and 
devoted  wife,  Elizabeth,  who,  during  twenty-seven  years, 
was  a  zealous  collaborator  and  should  share  the  credit 
usually  given  to  her  husband.  It  was  she  who,  after  his 
death,  edited  and  published  their  joint  work,  the  Pro- 
dromus AstronomicB. 

Among  the  women  most  distinguished  in  the  eighteenth 
century  for  astronomical  pursuits  was  the  Marquise  du 
Chatelet,  who  was  likewise  famous  for  her  knowledge  of 
mathematics.  It  was  she  who  accomplished  the  difficult 
task  of  translating  Newton 's  Principle  into  French.  '  -  This 
translation, ' '  writes  Voltaire, ' '  which  the  most  learned  men 
of  France  should  have  made  and  which  the  others  should 
study,  was  undertaken  by  a  woman  and  completed  to  the 
astonishment  and  glory  of  her  country. ' '  x 

France  was  at  this  time  devoted  to  the  doctrines  of  Des- 
cartes and  to  his  theory  of  elementary  vortices;  and  Vol- 
taire, who  had  been  deeply  impressed  by  the  admirable  sim- 
plicity of  Newton's  theory  of  universal  attraction  as  a 

Berlinensi;  mense  Julio  A,  1710  mortuus.  Ejus  vidua,  Maria  Mag- 
dalena  Winckelmannia,  non  minore  in  observando  et  calculo  astrono-' 
mico  dexteritate  pollet,  ac  in  utroque  labore  maritum,  cum  viveret, 

fideliter   juvit quod   laudi    ducitur   fceminaB   ea  animo   compre- 

hendisse,  quae  sine  ingenii  vi  studiique  assiduitate  non  comprehen- 
duntur,"  Acta  Eruditorum,  pp.  78,  79,  Lipsise,  1712. 

1  Preface  Historique  to  Principes  Mathematiques  de  la  Pfiilosophie 
Naturelle  par  feue  Madame  la  Marquise  du  Chastellet,  Tom.  I,  p.  V, 
Paris,  1759. 


176  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

means  of  explaining  the  seemingly  complex  motions  of  the 
heavenly  bodies,  resolved  to  make  his  countrymen  acquaint- 
ed with  the  teachings  of  the  great  English  geometer  and, 
at  the  same  time,  dethrone  Descartes  in  the  French  Acad- 
emy. It  was,  indeed,  a  huge  undertaking;  but,  thanks  to 
the  ability  which  Mme.  du  Chatelet  displayed  in  translating 
and  elucidating  Newton's  immortal  masterpiece,  he  lived 
to  see  his  dream  realized. 

How  proud  Mme.  du  Chatelet 's  countrywomen  must 
have  been  of  her!  How  they  must  have  rejoiced  in  her 
success  and  acclaimed  her  as  the  intellectual  glory  of  her 
sex!  How  they  must  have  pointed  to  her  work  as  a  tri- 
umphant refutation  of  the  age-old  belief  in  woman's  inca- 
pacity for  mathematics  and  all  abstract  science !  How  they 
must  have  been  elated  to  find  one  of  their  number  success- 
fully executing  a  task  which  would  have  taxed  the  powers 
of  the  most  eminent  mathematicians  of  France !  How  they 
must  have  associated  her  truly  notable  performance  with 
similar  achievements  of  Hypatia  and  Maria  Gaetana  Ag- 
nesi  and  discerned  in  it  concrete  evidence  of  the  falsity  of 
all  those  imputations  of  mental  inferiority  which  had  been 
fostered  by  "man's  huge  egotism  and  woman's  carefully 
coddled  superstition."  How  they  must  have  been  encour- 
aged by  her  achievement  and  spurred  on  to  emulate  her  by 
similar  contributions  to  the  advancement  of  science ! 

That  is  what  we  think  now;  but  the  light  and  frivolous 
women  who  constituted  the  leaders  of  society  in  Mme.  du 
Chatelet 's  day,  and  who  were  devoured  by  envy  and  jeal- 
ousy of  one  who  was  so  much  their  superior  in  intellect 
were  not  so  minded.  Far  from  sympathizing  with  her 
work,  they  proved  to  be  her  most  virulent  critics  and  most 
pronounced  enemies.  Neither  Moliere  nor  Boileau  could 
have  heaped  more  ridicule  on  the  pedantic  women  of  their 
time  than  was  meted  out  to  the  translator  of  the  Principia 
by  certain  noble  dames  of  provincial  chateaux  or  by  dis- 
tinguished habituees  of  prominent  Parisian  salons. 


WOMEN    IN    ASTRONOMY  177 

Thus  the  petulant  ennuyee,  Mme.  de  Stael,  in  a  letter  to 
her  friend,  Mme.  du  Deffand,  writing  of  Mme.  du  Chatelet, 
who  was  then  her  guest  at  Sceaux,  tells  us  that l '  she  is  now 
passing  in  review  her  principles.  This  is  a  task  she  per- 
forms every  year,  else  they  might,  perhaps,  make  their 
escape  and  run  to  such  a  distance  that  she  would  never  be 
able  to  recover  any  of  them.  I  verily  believe  that  they  are 
in  durance  vile  while  in  her  possession,  as  they  were  cer- 
tainly not  born  with  her.  She  does  well  to  keep  a  strict 
watch  over  them. ' n 

And,  in  her  turn,  Mme.  du  Deffand,  who  was  wont  to 
pose  as  the  intimate  friend  of  Mme.  du  Chatelet,  did  not 
hesitate  to  write  and  circulate  a  pen  portrait  of  this  friend 
— and  that  after  the  unhappy  woman  was  in  her  grave — 
which  for  bitter  reviling  and  brutal  villification  has  prob- 
ably never  been  equalled.  A  witty  Frenchman  observed  of 
this  portrait  that  it  reminded  him  of  an  observation  once 
made  by  a  medical  acquaintance  of  his  concerning  one  of 
his  patients:  "  'My  friend  fell  ill;  I  attended  him.  He 
died;  I  dissected  him.'  "2 

i  The  Unpublished  Correspondence  of  Madame  du  Deffand,  Vol.  I, 
pp.  202-203,  London,  1810. 

2  Mme.  du  Deffand 's  venomous  letter,  somewhat  abridged,  reads 
as  follows:  "Imagine  a  tall,  hard  and  withered  woman,  narrow- 
chested,  with  large  limbs,  enormous  feet,  a  very  small  head,  a  thin 
face,  a  pointed  nose,  two  small  sea-green  eyes,  her  color  dark,  her 
complexion  florid,  her  mouth  flat,  her  teeth  set  far  apart  and  very 
much  decayed;  there  is  the  figure  of  the  beautiful  Emilie,  a  figure 
with  which  she  is  so  well  pleased  that  she  spares  nothing  for  the 
sake  of  setting  it  off.  Her  manner  of  dressing  her  hair,  her  adorn- 
ments, her  top-knots,  her  jewelry,  all  are  in  profusion;  but,  as  she 
wishes  to  be  lovely  in  spite  of  nature,  and  as  she  wishes  to  appear 
magnificent  in  spite  of  fortune,  she  is  obliged,  in  order  to  obtain 
superfluities,  to  go  without  necessaries  such  as  under-garments  and 
other  trifles. 

"She  was  born  with  sufficient  intellect,  and  the  desire  to  appear 
as  though  she  had  a  great  deal  made  her  prefer  to  study  the  most 
abstract  sciences  rather  than  more  general  and  pleasant  branches  of 


178  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

Among  other  women  astronomers  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury who  deserve  mention  are  Mme.  du  Pierry,  the 
Duchesse  Louise  of  Saxe-Gotha,  and  Mme.  Hortense 
Lepaute. 

According  to  Lalande,  Mme.  du  Pierry  was  the  first 
woman  professor  of  astronomy  in  Paris.  He  dedicated  to 
her  his  Astronomic  des  Dames,  and  incorporated  in  his  own 
works  many  of  her  memoirs  on  astronomical  subjects.    She 

knowledge.    She  thought  she  would  gain  a  greater  reputation  by  this 
peculiarity  and  a  more  decided  superiority  over  other  women. 

"She  did  not  limit  herself  to  this  ambition.  She  wished  to  be  a 
princess  as  well,  and  she  became  so,  not  by  the  grace  of  God  nor  by 
that  of  the  King,  but  by  her  own  act.  This  absurdity  went  on  like 
the  others.  One  became  accustomed  to  regard  her  as  a  princess  of 
the  theatre,  and  one  almost  forgot  that  she  was  a  woman  of  rank. 

"Madame  worked  so  hard  to  appear  what  she  was  not  that  no 
one  knew  what  she  really  was.  Even  her  faults  were  perhaps  not 
natural.  They  may  have  had  something  to  do  with  her  pretensions, 
her  want  of  respect  with  regard  to  the  state  of  princess,  her  dullness 
in  that  of  savant e,  and  her  stupidity  in  that  of  a  jolie  femme. 

"However  much  of  a  celebrity  Mme.  du  Chatelet  may  be,  she 
would  not  be  satisfied  if  she  were  not  celebrated,  and  that  is  what 
she  desired  in  becoming  the  friend  of  M.  de  Voltaire.  To  him  she 
owes  the  eclat  of  her  life,  and  it  is  to  him  that  she  will  owe  im- 
mortality." See  Lettres  de  la  Marquise  du  Deffand  a  Horace  Wal- 
pole,  Tom.  I,  pp.  200-201,  Paris,  1824. 

As  a  contrast  to  this  atrocious  caricature,  it  is  but  due  to  the 
memory  of  Mme.  du  Chatelet  to  give  her  portrait  by  Voltaire,  to 
whom  she  was  ever  the  beautiful,  the  charming  Urania,  the 

"Vaste  et  puissante  genie, 
Minerve    de    la    France,    immortelle    EmiHe." 

It  is  contained  in  the  following  verses: 

"L'esprit  sublime  et  la  delicatesse, 
L'oubli  charmante  de  sa  propre  beaute" 
L'amitie  tendre  et  1 'amour  emporte 

Sont  les  attraits  de  ma  belle  mattresse." 
If  the  whole  truth  were  known,  it  would,  doubtless,  be  found  some- 
where between  the  above  extreme  and  contradictory  views,  and  the 
cause  of  the  caustic  statements  of  Mesdames  de  Stael  and  du  Deffand 
would  probably  be  found  to  be  quite  accurately  expressed  in  the 


WOMEN    IN    ASTRONOMY  179 

devoted  much  time  to  calculating  eclipses  with  a  view  to 
accurately  determining  the  motion  of  the  moon,  and  was, 
besides,  the  author  of  numerous  astronomical  tables  which 
exhibit  patient  research  and  unquestioned  skill. 

The  Duchesse  Louise  had  a  great  reputation  as  a  rapid 
and  accurate  computer,  and  was  celebrated  for  the  number 
and  variety  of  her  computations.  Her  modesty,  however, 
prevented  her  from  publishing  anything  or  even  having 
her  work  quoted. 

Considering,  however,  the  amount  and  character  of  her 
work,  the  most  eminent  woman  astronomer  that  France  has 
yet  produced  was,  without  doubt,  Mme.  Hortense  Lepaute, 
the  wife  of  the  royal  clockmaker  of  France.  She  first  dis- 
tinguished herself  by  her  investigations  on  the  oscillations 
of  pendulums  of  diiferent  lengths,  an  account  of  which  is 
to  be  found  in  her  husband's  valuable  work,  Traite  d'Hor- 
logerie,  published  in  1755. 

In  1759  Lalande,  who  was  then  the  Director  of  the  Paris 
Observatory,  engaged  Mme.  Lepaute  and  the  celebrated 
mathematician,  Clairaut,  to  determine  the  amount  of  the 
attraction  of  Jupiter  and  Saturn  on  Halley's  comet,  whose 
return  was  expected  in  that  year.  So  difficult  was  this 
problem,  and  so  numerous  were  the  complications  involved, 

first  part  of  Voltaire's  Epistle  on  Calumny,  which  was  written  about 
the  beginning  of  his  particular  relationship  with  ' '  the  divine  Emilie. ' ' 
The  first  lines  of  this  epistle,  as  translated  by  Smollett,  are: 
"Since  beautiful,   'twill  be  your  fate, 

Emelia,  to  incur  much  hate; 

Almost  one-half  of  human  race 

Will  even  curse  you  to  your  face; 

Possesst  of  genius,  noblest  fire, 
*!  With  fear  you  will  each  breast  inspire; 

As  you  too  easily  confide, 

You'll  often  be  betrayed,  belied; 

You  ne'er  of  virtue  made  parade, 

To  hypocrites  no  court  you've  paid, 

Therefore,  of  Calumny  beware, 

Foe  to  the  virtuous  and  the  fair." 


180  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

that  Lalande  frankly  confesses  that  he  would  not  have 
dared  to  undertake  its  solution  without  Mme.  Lepaute's 
assistance.  For  it  necessitated  calculating  for  every  de- 
gree, and  for  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  the  distances  and 
forces  of  each  of  the  planets  with  reference  to  the  comet. 
"It  would  be  difficult/ '  declares  Lalande,  "to  realize  the 
courage  which  this  enterprise  required,  if  one  did  not  know 
that  for  more  than  six  months  we  calculated  from  morning 
until  night,  sometimes  even  at  meals,  and  that  at  the  end 
of  this  enforced  labor  I  was  stricken  by  a  malady  which 
affected  me  during  the  rest  of  my  life."  Clairaut  was  so 
impressed  by  Mme.  Lepaute's  energy  and  skill  during  this 
time  that  he  declared  "her  ardor  was  surprising,"  and  he 
did  not  hesitate  to  call  her  La  savante  calculatrice — the 
learned  computer.1 

The  eclipse  of  1762  also  engaged  Mme.  Lepaute's  atten- 
tion, as  did  also  the  annular  eclipse  of  1764.  The  latter 
was  a  curious  phenomenon  for  France,  as  it  had  never  be- 
fore been  observed.  Mme.  Lepaute  calculated  it  for  the 
whole  of  Europe  and  published  a  chart  showing  its  path 
for  every  quarter  of  an  hour.  She  also  published  another 
chart  for  Paris,  in  which  were  exhibited  the  different 
phases  of  the  eclipse. 

On  the  occasion  of  the  different  eclipses  which  she  had 
calculated,  Mme.  Lepaute  recognized  the  advantage  of 
having  a  table  of  parallactic  angles.    She  accordingly  pre- 

i  In  his  work  on  Comets,  Clairaut  at  first  gave  Mme.  Lepaute 
full  credit  for  her  work  which  had  been  of  such  inestimable  service 
to  himself;  but,  in  order  to  gratify  a  woman  who,  having  preten- 
sions without  knowledge,  was  very  jealous  of  the  superior  attain- 
ments of  Mme.  Lepaute,  he  had  the  weakness  subsequently  to  sup- 
press his  generous  tribute  to  merit.  Commenting  on  this  strange 
conduct  of  his  assistant,  Lalande  expresses  himself  as  follows: 
"We  know  that  it  is  not  rare  to  see  ordinary  women  depreciate 
those  who  have  knowledge,  tax  them  with  pedantry  and  contest  their 
merit  in  order  to  avenge  themselves  upon  them  for  their  superiority. 
The  latter  are  so  few  in  number  that  the  others  have  almost  suc- 
ceeded in  making  them  conceal  their  acquirements. ' ' 


WOMEN    IN    ASTRONOMY  181 

pared  a  very  extended  table  of  this  kind  which  was  pub- 
lished by  the  French  government.  Besides  this  table,  she 
was  the  author  of  numerous  memoirs  on  astronomical  sub- 
jects. Among  them  was  one  embracing  calculations  based 
on  all  the  observations  which  had  been  made  on  the  transit 
of  Venus  in  1761. 

1 '  In  1759, ' '  again  writes  Lalande, ' '  I  was  given  charge  of 
the  Connaissance  des  Temps,  a  work  which  the  Academy  of 
Sciences  published  every  year  for  the  use  of  astronomers 
and  navigators,  the  calculations  for  which  gave  occupation 
to  several  persons.  I  had  the  good  fortune  to  find  in  Mme. 
Lepaute  a  co-worker  without  whom  I  should  not  have  been 
able  to  undertake  the  labor  required.  She  continued  in  this 
occupation  until  1774,  when  another  Academician  assumed 
this  laborious  task.  But  she  thereupon  began  work  on  the 
Ephemeris,  of  which  the  seventh  volume  in  quarto,  which 
appeared  in  1774,  goes  to  1784,  and  of  which  the  eighth, 
published  in  1783,  extends  to  the  year  1792.  In  this  latter 
volume  she  made,  unaided,  all  the  computations  for  the 
sun,  the  moon  and  all  the  planets. 

"This  long  series  of  calculations  finally  enfeebled  her 
eyesight,  which  had  been  excellent,  and  she  was  in  the  last 
years  of  her  life  obliged  to  discontinue  them. ' n 

In  view  of  her  extraordinary  and  long- continued  work  in 
her  chosen  specialty,  M.  Lalande  was  quite  warranted  in 
stating  that  "Mme.  Lepaute  is  the  only  woman  in  France 
who  has  acquired  veritable  knowledge  in  astronomy;  and 
she  is  now  replaced  only  by  Mme.  du  Pierry,  who  has  pub- 
lished divers  astronomical  calculations,  and  who  has  de- 
served to  have  dedicated  to  her  L'Astronomie  des  Dames, 
which  appeared  in  1786." 

It  is  gratifying  to  know  that  the  beautiful  Japan  Rose — 
originally  called  Pautia,  but  changed  to  Hortensia  by  Jus- 
sieu — was  named  after  this  distinguished  woman.     It  is 

1  Bibliographie  Astronomique,  pp.  676-687,  par  Jerome  de  la  Lande, 
Paris,  1803, 


182  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

also  gratifying  to  be  assured  that  her  engrossing  work  in 
astronomy  in  no  wise  caused  her  to  neglect  her  home  duties 
or  to  lose  that  sweetness  of  character  and  delicacy  of  re- 
finement for  which  she  was  noted  before  she  entered  upon 
the  absorbing  and  taxing  career  of  astronomical  computer. 

The  wife  of  Lalande 's  nephew,  Mme.  Lefrancais  de 
Lalande,  proved  herself  in  many  respects  a  worthy  succes- 
sor of  Mme.  Lepaute.  "My  niece/ '  writes  her  uncle, 
Jerome  Lalande,  ' '  aids  her  husband  in  his  observations  and 
draws  conclusions  from  them  by  calculation.  She  has  re- 
duced the  observations  of  ten  thousand  stars,  and  prepared 
a  work  of  three  hundred  pages  of  horary  tables — an  im- 
mense work  for  her  age  and  sex.  They  are  incorporated 
in  my  Abrege  de  Navigation. 

"She  is  one  of  the  rare  women  who  have  written  scien- 
tific books.  She  has  published  tables  for  finding  the  time 
at  sea  by  the  altitude  of  the  sun  and  stars.  These  tables 
were  printed  in  1791  by  the  order  of  the  National  As- 
sembly. ...  In  1799  she  published  a  catalogue  of  ten 
thousand  stars,  reduced  and  calculated. ' ' 

This  distinguished  observer  and  computer  had  a  daugh- 
ter in  whom  her  grand-uncle  was  particularly  interested. 
1 '  This  daughter  of  astronomy, ' '  he  tells  us,  ' '  was  born  the 
twentieth  of  January,  1790,  the  day  on  which  we  at  Paris 
saw  for  the  first  time  the  comet  which  Miss  Caroline  Her- 
schel  had  just  discovered.  The  child  was  accordingly 
named  Caroline ;  her  godfather  was  Delambre.  * ' 

The  discoverer  of  the  comet  referred  to  was,  in  many 
ways,  a  most  remarkable  woman.  She  was  the  sister  of 
Sir  William  Herschel,  the  illustrious  pioneer  of  modern 
physical  astronomy  and  the  virtual  founder  of  sidereal 
science,  as  we  know  it  to-day.  She  was  also  the  aunt  of 
Sir  John  Herschel,  who  was  the  only  rival  of  his  uncle,  Sir 
William,  as  an  explorer  of  the  heavens. 

But  she  was  far  more  than  a  mere  relative  of  these 
immortal  leaders  in  astronomic  science.     She  herself  was 


WOMEN    IN    ASTRONOMY  183 

an  astronomer  of  distinction,  and  is  known,  in  the  annals 
of  astronomy,  as  the  discoverer  of  no  fewer  than  eight 
comets.  Great,  however,  as  was  her  skill  as  an  observer 
and  computer,  it  was  as  her  brother's  assistant  that  she  is 
entitled  to  the  most  distinction.  Her  affection  for  him  was 
as  unbounded  as  her  devotion  to  his  life  work  was  abiding 
and  productive  of  great  results.  For  fifty  years,  after 
joining  him  in  England — they  both  had  been  born  and  bred 
in  Hanover — she  was  ever  at  his  side,  to  assist  him  in  his 
labors  and  to  cheer  him  by  her  words  of  counsel  and  en- 
couragement. She  helped  him  to  grind  and  polish  the  mir- 
rors that  were  used  in  his  epoch-making  reflectors.  This 
was  a  most  arduous  task;  for,  at  that  time,  there  was  no 
machinery  sufficiently  exact  for  grinding  specula,  and,  as  a 
consequence,  the  work  had  all  to  be  done  by  hand.  So 
interested  was  the  great  astronomer  in  his  work,  when 
polishing  his  larger  specula,  that  he  forgot  all  about  the 
passage  of  time,  and  on  these  occasions  his  sister  was  con- 
stantly obliged,  as  she  herself  informs  us,  "to  feed  him 
by  putting  the  victuals  by  bits  into  his  mouth  by  way  of 
keeping  him  alive. '  ■  "When  finishing  his  seven- foot  reflector 
he  was  on  one  occasion  found  so  intent  on  his  work  that 
"he  had  not  taken  his  hands  from  it  for  sixteen  hours 
together." 

In  our  day,  when  all  kinds  of  astronomical  apparatus 
are  made  by  machinery,  it  is  difficult  for  us  to  realize  what 
stupendous  labor  was  required  to  produce  those  giant  tele- 
scopes with  which  the  Herschels  made  their  great  discov- 
eries and  by  which  they,  at  the  same  time,  revolutionized 
the  science  of  the  stars.  For  they  had  not  only  to  design 
and  make  the  specula,  but  also  the  mountings  of  the  mir- 
rors as  well.  And,  in  order  to  obtain  the  money  required 
for  material  and  workmen,  they  were  obliged  to  make  tele- 
scopes for  sale.  This  meant  an  immense  loss  of  precious 
time  that  would  otherwise  have  been  devoted  to  the  study 
of  the  heavens. 


184  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

After  long  years  of  struggle,  during  which  the  devoted 
brother  and  sister  overcame  countless  difficulties  of  every 
kind,  their  condition  was  somewhat  ameliorated  by  finan- 
cial aid  from  the  government  and  by  William's  appoint- 
ment to  the  position  of  astronomer  royal  with  a  salary  of 
£200  a  year.  When  Sir  William  Watson  heard  that  this 
limited  sum  had  been  granted  by  George  III  to  the  dis- 
coverer of  Georgium  Sidus — the  planet  now  known  as 
Uranus — he  exclaimed,  "  Never  bought  monarch  honor  so 
cheap." 

Shortly  afterwards  Caroline  was  appointed  as  assistant 
to  her  brother  at  a  salary  of  £50  a  year.  This  we  should 
now  consider  but  a  nominal  sum,  but  she  managed  to  live 
on  it.  When  she  received  the  first  quarterly  payment  of 
twelve  pounds  she  wrote  in  her  memoirs,  ' '  It  was  the  first 
money  I  ever  in  all  my  lifetime  thought  myself  to  be  at 
liberty  to  spend  to  my  liking. ' '  Her  appointment  as  assist- 
ant to  her  brother  is  notable  from  the  fact  that  she  was  the 
first  woman  in  England,  if  not  in  the  world,  to  hold  such  a 
position  in  the  government  service. 

Miss  Herschel  held  this  official  appointment  until  Sir 
William's  death  in  1822.  When  not  acting  as  her  brother's 
assistant  or  secretary,  she  devoted  her  time  to  what  she 
quaintly  called  ' '  minding  the  heavens. ' '  It  was  during  this 
period  that  she  made  her  most  important  discoveries.  As 
assistant,  however,  to  so  indefatigable  an  observer  as  Sir 
William  Herschel,  she  had  but  little  time  for  sweeping 
the  heavens,  for,  when  at  home,  Sir  William  "was  invari- 
ably accustomed  to  carry  on  his  observations  until  day- 
break, circumstances  permitting,  without  regard  to  seasons ; 
it  was  the  business  of  his  assistant  to  note  the  clocks  and 
to  write  down  the  observations  from  his  dictations  as  they 
were  made.  Subsequently  she  assisted  in  the  laborious 
numerical  calculations  and  reductions,  so  that  it  was  only 
during  his  absence  from  home  or  when  any  other  interrup- 
tion of  his  regular  course  of  observation  occurred  that  she 


WOMEN    IN    ASTRONOMY  185 

was  able  to  devote  herself  to  the  Newtonian  sweeper,  which 
she  used  to  such  good  purpose.  Besides  the  eight  comets 
by  her  discovered,  she  detected  several  remarkable  nebulae 
and  clusters  of  stars,  previously  unnoticed,  especially  the 
superb  nebulae  known  as  No.  1,  Class  V,  in  Sir  William 
Herschel's  catalogue.  Long  practice  taught  her  to  make 
light  of  her  work.  'An  observer  at  your  twenty-foot  when 
sweeping, '  she  wrote  many  years  after,  '  wants  nothing  but 
a  being  who  can  and  will  execute  his  commands  with  the 
quickness  of  lightning ;  for  you  will  have  seen  that  in  many 
sweeps  six  or  twice  six  objects  have  been  secured  and 
described  in  one  minute  of  time.,  "* 

It  was  her  quick,  intelligent  action,  combined  with  a 
patience,  enthusiasm  and  powers  of  endurance  that  were 
most  extraordinary,  that  made  Caroline  Herschel  so  valu- 
able as  an  assistant  to  her  brother,  and  enabled  him  to 
achieve  the  unique  position  which  is  his  among  the  world 's 
greatest  astronomers.  Had  she  been  able  to  devote  all  her 
time  to  "minding  the  heavens,"  it  is  cevtain  that  she 
would  have  made  many  more  discoveries  than  are  now 
credited  to  her;  but  her  service  to  astronomy  would  have 
been  less  than  it  was  as  the  auxiliary  of  her  illustrious 
brother.  No  two  ever  did  better  "teamwork";  no  two 
were  ever  more  devoted  to  each  other  or  exhibited  greater 
enthusiasm  in  the  task  to  which  they  so  heroically  devoted 
their  lives.2 

i  Memoirs  and  Correspondence  of  Caroline  Herschel,  p.  144,  by 
Mrs.  John  Herschel,  London,  1879. 

2  So  sensitive  was  Miss  Herschel  in  her  old  age  regarding  the 
reputation  of  her  brother,  William,  who  had  always  been  her  idol 
and  the  one  in  whom  she  had  concentrated  all  her  affection,  that 
she  came  to  look  askance  at  every  person  and  thing  that  seemed  cal- 
culated to  dull  the  glory  of  his  achievements.  Thus  her  niece,  in 
writing  to  Sir  John  Herschel,  after  her  death,  declares :  ' i  She  looked 
upon  progress  in  science  as  so  much  detraction  from  her  brother's 
fame;  and,  even  your  investigations  would  have  become  a  source  of 
estrangement  had   she  been   with  you."     In   a  letter  to  Sir   John 


186  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

In  addition  to  her  arduous  and  engrossing  duties  as  sec- 
retary and  assistant  to  her  brother,  Caroline  found  time  to 
prepare  a  number  of  works  for  the  press.  Among  these 
were  a  Catalogue  of  Eight  Hundred  and  Sixty  Stars  Ob- 
served by  Flamsteed  but  not  Included  in  the  British  Cata- 
logue and  A  General  Index  of  Reference  to  Every  Observa- 
tion of  Every  Star  in  the  Above-mentioned  British  Cata- 
logue. She  had  the  honor  of  having  these  two  works  pub- 
lished by  the  Royal  Society.  Another,  and  a  more  valuable 
work,  was  The  Reduction  and  Arrangement  in  the  Form  of 
Catalogue,  in  Zones,  of  All  the  Star-Clusters  and  Nebulae 
Observed  by  Sir  W.  Herschel  in  His  Sweeps.  It  was  for 
this  catalogue  that  a  gold  medal  was  voted  to  her  by  the 
Royal  Astronomical  Society  in  1828 — a  production  that 
was  characterized  as  "a  work  of  immense  labor"  and  "an 
extraordinary  monument  to  the  unextinguished  ardor  of  a 
lady  of  seventy-five  in  the  cause  of  abstract  science."  To 
her  nephew,  Sir  John  Herschel,  it  proved  invaluable,  as  it 
supplied  the  needful  data  "when  he  undertook  the  review 
of  the  nebulae  of  the  northern  hemisphere. ' '  It  was  also  a 
fitting  prelude  to  Sir  John's  Cape  Observations,  a  copy  of 
which  great  work  she  received  from  her  nephew  nearly 

Herschel,  written  four  years  before  her  death,  she  exhibits,  in  an 
amusing  fashion,  her  jealous  spirit  anent  the  great  telescope  of  Lord 
Eosse.  " '  They  talk  of  nothing  here  at  the  clubs, ' '  she  writes,  ' '  but  of 
the  great  mirror  and  the  great  man  who  made  it.  I  have  but  one  an- 
swer for  all — Der  Eerl  ist  ein  Narr — the  fellow  is  a  fool." 

Even  "  Every  word  said  in  her  own  praise  seemed  to  be  so  much 
taken  away  from  the  honour  due  to  her  brother.  She  had  lived  so 
many  years  in  companionship  with  a  truly  great  man,  and  in  the 
presence  of  the  unfathomable  depths  of  the  starry  heavens,  that  praise 
of  herself  seemed  childish  exaggeration."  And  notwithstanding  the 
honor  and  recognition  which  she  received  from  learned  men  and 
learned  societies  for  her  truly  remarkable  astronomical  labors,  her 
dominant  idea  was  always  the  same — ''I  am  nothing.  I  have  done 
nothing.  All  I  am,  all  I  know,  I  owe  to  my  brother.  I  am  only  a  tool 
which  he  shaped  to  his  use — a  well-trained  puppy-dog  would  have 
done  as  much."     Op.  cit.,  pp.  IX,  335  and  346. 


I 


WOMEN    IN    ASTRONOMY  187 

twenty  years  subsequently,  after  he  had  completed  his 
famous  observations  of  the  southern  heavens  in  his  ob- 
servatory at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 

"By  a  most  striking  and  happy  coincidence,' *  writes  Mrs. 
John  Herschel,  "she,  whose  unflagging  toil  had  so  greatly 
contributed  to  its  successful  prosecution  in  the  hands  of 
her  beloved  brother,  lived  to  witness  its  triumphant  termi- 
nation through  the  no  less  persistent  industry  and  strenu- 
ous labor  of  his  son;  and  her  last  days  were  crowned  by 
the  possession  of  the  work  which  brought  to  its  glorious 
conclusion  Sir  William  Herschel's  vast  undertaking — The 
Survey  of  the  Heavens." 

That  Miss  Herschel's  labors  in  the  cause  of  astronomy 
were  appreciated  by  her  contemporaries  is  evidenced  by  the 
honors  of  which  she  was  the  recipient.  The  first  of  these 
honors  came  in  the  form  of  a  gold  medal,  unanimously 
awarded  by  the  Royal  Astronomical  Society  for  her  reduc- 
tion of  twenty-five  hundred  nebulae  "discovered  by  her 
illustrious  brother,  which  may  be  considered  as  the  com- 
pletion of  a  series  of  exertions  probably  unparalleled  either 
in  magnitude  or  importance  in  the  annals  of  astronomical 
labor." 

It  was  on  this  occasion,  when  referring  to  the  immen- 
sity of  the  task  which  Sir  William  Herschel  had  under- 
taken, that  the  vice-president  of  the  society  paid  a  deserv- 
ing tribute  to  the  great  astronomer's  devoted  sister,  in 
which  is  found  the  following  statement : 

"Miss  Herschel  it  was  who  by  right  acted  as  his  amanu- 
ensis ;  she  it  was  whose  pen  conveyed  to  paper  his  observa- 
tions as  they  issued  from  his  lips;  she  it  was  who  noted 
the  right  ascensions  and  polar  distances  of  the  objects 
observed;  she  it  was  who,  having  passed  the  night  near 
the  instrument,  took  the  rough  manuscripts  to  her  cot- 
tage at  the  dawn  of  day  and  produced  a  fair  copy  of  the 
night's  work  on  the  following  morning;  she  it  was  who 
planned  the  labor  of  each  succeeding  night;  she  it  was 


188  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

who  reduced  every  observation,  made  every  calculation; 
she  it  was  who  arranged  everything  in  systematic  order; 
and  she  it  was  who  helped  him  to  obtain  his  imperishable 
name."1 

Besides  this  gold  medal  from  the  Royal  Astronomical 
Society,  Miss  Herschel  also  received  two  others,  one  from 
the  King  of  Denmark  and  the  other  from  the  King  of 
Prussia.  The  latter  was  accompanied  by  a  most  eulogistic 
letter  from  Alexander  von  Humboldt,  who  informed  her 
that  the  medal  was  awarded  her  "in  recognition  of  the 
valuable  services  rendered  by  her  as  the  fellow  worker  of 
her  immortal  brother,  Sir  William  Herschel,  by  discov- 
eries, observations  and  laborious  calculations. ' ' 

In  1835,  when  she  was  eighty-five  years  of  age,  Miss 
Herschel  had  the  signal  honor  of  being  elected,  along  with 
Mrs.  Somerville,  an  honorary  member  of  the  Eoyal  Astro- 
nomical Society.  As  they  were  the  first  two  women  in 
England  to  receive  such  recognition  for  their  contributions 
to  science,  it  seems  desirable  to  reproduce  here  an  extract 
from  the  report  of  the  council  of  the  society  regarding  the 
bestowal  of  an  honor  which  marked  so  distinct  a  change  in 
England  of  the  attitude  that  should  be  taken  toward  women 
who  excelled  in  intellectual  achievements.  The  extract 
reads  as  follows: 

"Your  council  has  no  small  pleasure  in  recommending 
that  the  names  of  two  ladies  distinguished  in  different  walks 
of  astronomy  be  placed  on  the  list  of  honorary  members. 
On  the  propriety  of  such  a  step,  in  an  astronomical  point 
of  view,  there  can  be  but  one  voice ;  and  your  council  is  of 
the  opinion  that  the  time  is  gone  by  when  either  feeling  or 
prejudice,  by  whichever  name  it  may  be  proper  to  call  it, 
should  be  allowed  to  interfere  with  the  payment  of  a  well- 
earned  tribute  of  respect.  Your  council  has  hitherto  felt 
that,  whatever  might  be  its  own  sentiment  on  the  subject, 
or  however  able  and  willing  it  might  be  to  defend  such  a 
i  Op.  cit.,  p.  224. 


WOMEN    IN    ASTRONOMY  189 

measure,  it  had  no  right  to  place  the  name  of  a  lady  in  a 
position  the  propriety  of  which  might  be  contested,  though 
upon  what  it  might  consider  narrow  grounds  and  false 
principles.  But  your  council  has  no  fear  that  such  a  dif- 
ference could  now  take  place  between  any  men  whose  opin- 
ion could  avail  to  guide  the  society  at  large ;  and,  abandon- 
ing compliment  on  the  one  hand  and  false  delicacy  on  the 
other,  submits  that,  while  the  tests  of  astronomical  merit 
should  in  no  case  be  applied  to  the  works  of  a  woman  less 
severely  than  to  those  of  a  man,  the  sex  of  the  former 
should  no  longer  be  an  obstacle  to  her  receiving  any  ac- 
knowledgment which  might  be  held  due  to  the  latter.  And 
your  council,  therefore,  recommends  this  meeting  to  add  to 
the  list  of  honorary  members  the  names  of  Miss  Caroline 
Herschel  and  Mrs.  Somerville,  of  whose  astronomical  knowl- 
edge, and  of  the  utility  of  the  ends  to  which  it  has  been 
applied,  it  is  not  necessary  to  recount  the  proofs."1 

Three  years  after  this  splendid  recognition  of  Miss  Her- 
schel's  astronomical  labors  she  was  elected  an  honorary 
member  of  the  Royal  Irish  Academy. 

But  exceptional  as  were  the  honors  conferred  on  her  by 
sovereigns  and  learned  societies,  none  of  them  afforded  her 
the  extreme  satisfaction  that  she  experienced  on  the  receipt 
of  a  copy,  shortly  before  her  death,  of  her  nephew 's  epochal 
Cape  Observations;  for,  as  has  well  been  said,  "nothing  in 
the  power  of  man  to  bestow  could  have  given  such  pleasure 
on  her  death-bed  as  this  last  crowning  completion  of  her 
brother's  work."  We  are  told  that  a  copy,  just  from  the 
press,  of  his  immortal  work,  Be  Orbium  Celestium  Bevolu- 
tionibus,  in  which  he  had  established  the  heliocentric  theory 
of  the  planetary  system,  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  Coper- 
nicus on  the  day  of  his  death,  just  a  few  hours  before  he 
expired.  He  seemed  conscious  of  what  it  was;  but,  after 
touching  it  and  contemplating  it  for  a  moment,  he  lapsed 

1  Memoirs  and  Correspondence  of  Caroline  Herschel,  ut.  sup.,  pp. 
226-227. 


190  JVOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

into  a  state  of  insensibility  which  soon  terminated  in  death. 
With  Miss  Herschel  the  case  was  different.  Although  in 
her  ninety-seventh  year,  she  still  retained  possession  of  all 
her  faculties  and  was  fully  able  to  appreciate  the  volume 
which  told  of  the  crowning  of  her  brother's  life  work — a 
volume  which  must  have  given  her  additional  satisfaction 
when  she  recalled  her  fifty  years  of  loyal  service  at  her 
brother's  side  as  his  associate  and  ministering  angel  in  the 
greatest  work  ever  undertaken  by  a  single  man  in  the  his- 
tory of  astronomy. 

Caroline  Herschel  died  at  the  advanced  age  of  ninety- 
seven  years  and  ten  months,  retaining  to  the  last  her  inter- 
est in  astronomy  which  had  occupied  her  mind  for  more 
than  three-quarters  of  a  century. 

Her  epitaph,  composed  by  herself,  is  engraved  on  a  heavy 
stone  slab  which  covers  her  grave  and  contains  the  follow- 
ing words:  "The  eyes  of  her  who  is  glorified  were  here 
below  turned  to  the  starry  heavens.  Her  own  discoveries 
of  comets  and  her  participation  in  the  immortal  labors  of 
her  brother,  William  Herschel,  bear  witness  of  this  to 
future  ages.,, 

Space  precludes  any  extended  reference  to  Miss  Her- 
schel 's  distinguished  associate  in  the  Royal  Astronomical 
Society,  Mrs.  Somerville,  whose  masterly  translation  and 
exposition  of  Laplace's  Mecanique  Celeste  secured  for  her 
so  enviable  a  place  among  the  mathematicians  of  her  time, 
and  placed  all  English  students  of  mathematical  astronomy 
under  such  deep  obligations.  It  is  true  that  she  ever  mani- 
fested a  lively  interest  in  celestial  phenomena;  but  it  is 
rather  as  a  mathematician  than  as  an  astronomer  that  she 
will  be  remembered  by  the  devotees  of  science. 

The  first  American  woman  to  win  distinction  in  astron- 
omy was  Miss  Maria  Mitchell.  Born  in  the  island  of  Nan- 
tucket in  1818,  she,  at  an  early  age,  displayed  remarkable 
talent  for  astronomy  and  mathematics.  Her  first  instructor 
was  her  father,  who,  besides  being  a  school  teacher,  had 


WOMEN    IN    ASTRONOMY  191 

from  his  youth  been  an  enthusiastic  student  of  astronomy, 
and  that,  too,  at  a  time  when  very  little  attention  was  given 
to  its  study  in  this  country,  and  when  the  observatory  of 
Harvard  College  consisted  of  only  a  little  projection  to 
an  old  mansion  in  Cambridge,  in  which  there  was  a  small 
telescope. 

At  the  age  of  thirteen  little  Maria  counted  seconds  by 
the  chronometer  for  her  father  while  he  observed  the  an- 
nular eclipse  of  the  sun  in  1831;  and  from  that  time  on 
she  was  his  assiduous  co-worker  in  the  study  of  the  heavens. 
After  teaching  school  for  some  years,  she  became  the 
librarian  of  the  Nantucket  Atheneum,  a  position  which  she 
held  for  nearly  twenty  years.  Here  she  continued  the 
study  of  her  favorite  science,  and  read  all  the  books  on 
astronomy  which  she  could  obtain.  It  was  during  this 
period  that  she  read  Bowditch's  translation  of  Laplace's 
Mecanique  Celeste  and  Gauss's  Theoria  Motus  Corporum 
Ccelestium  in  the  original. 

On  the  evening  of  October  1,  1847,  she  was  the  dis- 
coverer of  a  comet  that  attracted  great  attention  because 
it  secured  for  her  a  medal  offered  by  the  King  of  Denmark 
in  1831  for  the  first  one  who  should  discover  a  telescopic 
comet.  The  same  comet  was  observed  by  Father  de  Vico 
in  Eome  two  days  subsequently,  by  Dawes  in  England  on 
October  seventh,  and  by  Madame  Riimker,  wife  of  the 
director  of  the  observatory  of  Hamburg,  on  the  eleventh 
of  the  same  month.  As  there  was  no  Atlantic  cable  in  those 
days,  it  was  not  known  who  was  the  fortunate  winner  of 
the  prize  until  nearly  a  year  afterward,  when  word  was 
received  from  Denmark  announcing  that  the  priority  of 
Miss  Mitchell's  discovery  had  been  recognized  and  that 
she  would  be  the  recipient  of  the  prize,  which,  for  a  while, 
it  was  thought  would  go  to  De  Vico  or  Madame  Riimker.1 

In  1849  Miss  Mitchell  was  appointed  a  compiler  for  the 

i  Maria  Mitchell,  Life,  Letters  and  Journals,  compiled  by  Phebo 
Mitchell  Kendall,  p.  267  et  seq.,  Boston,  1896. 


192  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

Nautical  Almanac,  a  position  she  held  for  nineteen  years. 
During  the  same  period  she  was  employed  by  the  United 
States  Coast  Survey. 

When  Vassar  College  was  opened  in  1865  for  the  higher 
education  of  women,  Miss  Mitchell  was  called  to  fill  the 
chair  of  astronomy  and  to  be  the  first  director  of  the 
observatory.  In  this  position  she  soon  succeeded  in  giving 
astronomy  a  prominence  that  it  never  had  had  before  in 
any  other  college  for  women,  and  in  but  few  for  men. 

Miss  Mitchell  was  a  member  of  several  learned  societies 
and  the  author  of  a  number  of  papers  containing  the  re- 
sults of  her  observations  on  Jupiter  and  Saturn  and  their 
satellites.  But  she  is  notable  chiefly  for  being  the  first 
woman  astronomer  in  the  United  States  and  for  training 
up  a  number  of  young  women  who  have  followed  in  her 
footsteps  as  enthusiastic  astronomers.  She  held  her  posi- 
tion at  Vassar  until  1889,  when  she  died,  a  few  months 
before  her  seventy-first  birthday. 

Since  the  pioneer  days  of  Miss  Caroline  Herschel,  the 
number  of  women  throughout  the  world  who  have  achieved 
distinction  in  astronomy  has  rapidly  augmented.  One  of 
the  most  noted  of  these  was  Caterina  Scarpellini,  niece  of 
Feliciano  Scarpellini,  professor  of  astronomy  in  Rome,  re- 
storer of  the  Academy  of  the  Lyncei,  and  founder  of  the 
Capitoline  Observatory.  Born  in  1808,  she  manifested  at 
an  early  age  a  decided  taste  for  astronomy,  which  was 
carefully  developed  by  her  uncle.  She  it  was  who  organ- 
ized the  Meteorologico  Ozonometric  station  in  Eome  and 
edited  its  monthly  bulletin.  She  exhibited  a  special  inter- 
est in  shooting  stars  and  prepared  the  first  catalogue  of 
these  meteors  observed  in  Italy.  In  1854  she  discovered 
a  comet.  She  has  also  left  valuable  studies  on  the  probable 
influence  of  the  moon  on  earthquakes — studies  which 
brought  her  distinction  from  several  of  the  learned  so- 
cieties of  Europe.  In  1872  the  Italian  government  decreed 
her  a  gold  medal  for  her  statistical  labors  in  science.  Since 


WOMEN    IN    ASTRONOMY  193 

her  death  her  countrymen  have  recognized  the  value  of  her 
contributions  to  science  by  erecting  a  statue  to  her  memory. 

Another  woman  who  has  won  enduring  fame  in  the  an- 
nals of  astronomy  is  Miss  Dorothea  Klumpke,  of  San  Fran- 
cisco. While  yet  quite  young,  she  and  her  sisters  were 
taken  to  Europe  to  be  educated.  There  she  soon  became 
proficient  in  a  number  of  languages,  and  then  devoted  her- 
self to  the  study  of  mathematics  and  astronomy.  After 
securing  her  baccalaureate  and  licentiate  in  Paris,  she  ap- 
plied for  admission  as  a  student  to  the  Paris  observatory. 
"The  directors  of  the  observatory  consulted  the  statutes. 
No  woman  had  hitherto  proposed  herself  as  a  colleague,  but 
there  was  no  rule  opposing  it.  They  themselves  approved, 
and  gave  her  a  telescope  to  make  her  own  observations. 
After  a  time  she  completed  the  work  begun  by  Mme. 
Kovalevsky  on  the  rings  of  Saturn,  which  she  made  the 
subject  of  her  thesis,  and,  when  she  had  become  Doctor  of 
Science,  she  was  given  a  decoration  by  the  Institute  and 
made  an  Officier  de  VAcademie." 

After  Miss  Klumpke  had  brilliantly  defended  her  thesis 
in  the  Sorbonne,  M.  Darboux,  the  president  of  the  jury, 
complimented  the  young  American  'doctor  on  her  splendid 
work  and  concluded  a  notable  address  in  her  honor  in  the 
following  laudatory  words: 

' '  The  great  names  of  Galileo,  of  Huyghens,  of  Cassini,  of 
Laplace,  without  speaking  of  those  of  my  illustrious  col- 
leagues and  friends,  are  attached  to  the  history  of  every 
serious  step  forward  made  in  this  attractive  and  difficult 
theory  of  Saturn's  rings.  Your  work  constitutes  another 
valuable  contribution  to  the  same  subject  and  places  you 
in  an  honorable  rank  beside  those  women  who  have  conse- 
crated themselves  to  the  study  of  mathematics.  In  the  last 
century  Maria  Agnesi  gave  us  a  treatise  on  the  differential 
and  integral  calculus.  Since  then  Sophie  Germain,  as  re- 
markable for  her  literary  and  philosophical  talent  as  for 
her  faculty  for  mathematics,  won  the  esteem  of  the  great 


19J  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

geometricians  who  honored  our  country  at  the  commence- 
ment  of  this  century.  It  is  but  a  few  years  since  the 
Academy  awarded  one  of  its  most  beautiful  prizes  which 
will  place  the  name  of  Mme.  Kovalevsky  beside  those  oi 
Euler  and  Lagrange  in  the  history  of  discoveries  relative 
to  the  theory  of  the  movement  of  a  solid  body  about  a  fixed 
point.  .  .  .  And  you,  mademoiselle,  your  thesis  is  the  first 
which  a  woman  has  presented  and  successfully  defended 
before  our  faculty  for  the  degree  of  doctor  in  mathematics. 
You  worthily  open  the  way,  and  the  faculty  unanimously 
makes  haste  to  declare  you  worthy  of  obtaining  the  degree 
of  doctor.' ' 

Besides  her  thesis  just  referred  to,  Miss  Klumpke  is  the 
author  of  numerous  communications  to  scientific  journals 
and  learned  societies  regarding  her  researches  on  the 
spectra  of  stars  and  meteorites  and  other  allied  subjects, 
For  many  years  she  was  at  the  head  of  the  bureau  in  the 
Paris  Observatory  for  measuring  the  photographic  plates 
that  are  to  be  used  in  the  large  catalogue  of  stars  and  map 
of  the  heavens  which  are  to  constitute  the  crowning  achieve- 
ments of  the  International  Astronomical  Congress.  She 
was  the  first  woman  to  be  elected  a  member  of  the  Astro- 
nomical Society  of  France,  and  the  character  of  her  wort 
as  an  observer  as  well  as  a  computer  has  given  her  an  en- 
viable position  among  the  astronomers  of  the  world.1 

In  America  another  woman  has  won  renown  among 
astronomers  by  successfully  executing  the  same  kind  oi 

iMiss  Klumpke,  the  reader  may  be  interested  in  knowing,  be 
longs  to  a  singularly  gifted  family.  Her  sister,  Augusta,  is  a  dis 
tinguished  physician  and  an  authority  on  nervous  diseases.  Hers  is 
the  glory  to  be  the  first  woman  permitted,  after  an  exceptionally 
severe  examination,  to  serve  as  interne  in  the  Paris  hospitals.  Julia 
her  youngest  sister,  who  achieved  distinction  as  a  violinist  witl 
Tsaye,  was  one  of  the  first  to  pass  the  examination  required  oi 
women  entering  the  Paris  Lycees,  while  Anna,  the  eldest,  has  woi 
fame  as  an  artist,  and  as  the  friend,  heiress  and  executrix  of  France '{ 
famous  daughter,  Rosa  Bonheur. 


WOMEN    IN    ASTRONOMY  195 

work  as  was  entrusted  to  Miss  Dorothea  Klumpke  in  Paris. 
For  many  years  Mrs.  W.  Fleming,  with  her  large  corps 
of  women  assistants,  had  charge  of  the  immense  collection 
of  astronomical  photographs  in  the  Observatory  of  Har- 
vard University.  To  her  and  her  staff  were  assigned  the 
reductions  and  measurements  of  the  photographic  and 
photometric  work  done  in  Cambridge  and  Arequipa,  Peru. 
She  was  singularly  successful  in  her  studies  of  photo- 
graphic plates  and  made  many  discoveries  which  astrono- 
mers regard  of  the  greatest  importance.  By  such  studies 
she  and  her  assistants  detected  many  new  nebulae,  double 
and  variable  stars,  besides  spectra  of  different  types  and  of 
rare  interest.  In  addition  to  this  they  examined  and  classi- 
fied tens  of  thousands  of  photographs  of  stellar  spectra,  a 
labor  which  involved  countless  details  of  reduction  and 
measurements  of  exceeding  delicacy  and  skill. 

A  complete  list  of  the  women  who,  during  the  past  half 
century,  have  devoted  themselves  to  the  study  of  astronomy 
and  who  have  contributed  to  its  advancement  by  their 
observations  and  writings  would  be  a  very  long  one. 
Among  those,  however,  whose  labors  have  attracted  special 
notice,  mention  must  be  made  of  the  Misses  Antonia  C. 
Maury,  Florence  Cushman,  Louisa  D.  Wells,  Mabel  C. 
Stephens,  Eva  F.  Leland,  Anna  Winlock,  Annie  J.  Cannon 
and  Henrietta  S.  Leavitt,  all  of  whom  are  on  the  staff  of 
the  Harvard  Observatory. 

Then,  too,  there  are  many  women  who  occupy  important 
positions  as  professors  or  assistant  professors  in  our  col- 
leges and  universities.  Chief  among  these  in  the  United 
States  are  Sarah  F.  Whiting,  of  Wellesley ;  Mary  W.  Whit- 
r  ney>  of  Vassar;  Mary  E.  Boyd,  of  Smith;  Susan  Cunning- 
ham, of  Swarthmore,  and  Annie  S.  Young,  of  Mt.  Holyoke. 
Nor  must  we  forget  such  able  computers  as  Mrs.  Margaretta 
Palmer,  of  Yale,  and  Miss  Hanna  Mace,  the  clever  assistant 
of  the  late  Simon  Newcomb  in  the  Naval  Observatory  in 
Washington. 


196  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

In  the  Old  World  among  the  women  who,  during  the 
last  few  decades,  have  materially  contributed  to  the  pro-' 
gress  of  astronomy,  either  as  observers  and  computers  or 
as  writers,  are  Miss  Alice  Everett,  who  has  done  splendid 
work  in  the  observatories  of  Greenwich  and  Potsdam, 
Misses  M.  A.  Orr,  Mary  Ashley,  Alice  Brown,  Mary  Proc- 
tor— daughter  of  the  late  astronomer,  E.  A.  Proctor — 
Agnes  M.  and  Ellen  M.  Clerke,  and  Lady  Huggins,  of  i 
England;  Mmes.  Jansen,  Faye,  and  Flammarion,  in 
France;  the  Countess  Bobinski,  in  Kussia;  and  Miss  Pog- 
son,  in  the  Observatory  of  Madras,  India. 

In  conclusion,  it  is  but  just  to  observe  that  women's 
work  in  astronomy  has  by  no  means  been  confined  to  their 
contributions  as  observers,  writers  and  computers.  Refer- 
ence must  also  be  made  to  the  financial  aid  which  they 
have  given  to  various  observatories  and  learned  societies 
for  the  furtherance  of  astronomical  research  both  in  the 
New  and  the  Old  World.  It  must  suffice  here  to  recall  the 
endowment  at  Harvard  University  of  the  Henry  Draper 
Memorial,  by  Mrs.  Henry  Draper,  in  order  that  the  work 
of  photographing  stellar  spectra,  which  occupied  her  hus- 
band's later  years,  might  be  continued  under  the  most 
favorable  auspices,  and  the  munificent  sum  of  fifty  thou- 
sand dollars  given  by  Miss  C.  Bruce,  of  New  York,  for  the 
construction  of  a  large  telescope  especially  designed  for 
photographing  faint  stars  and  nebulae.  The  photographs 
taken  with  this  instrument  will  be  used  in  the  preparation 
of  the  great  chart  of  the  heavens  which  is  to  be  the  joint 
production  of  the  chief  observatories  of  the  world. 


CHAPTER  V 

WOMEN   IN   PHYSICS 

Physics,  being  one  of  the  inductive  sciences,  received 
little  attention  until  modern  times.  True,  the  Greeks  were 
familiar  with  some  of  the  fundamental  facts  of  the  me- 
chanics of  solids  and  fluids,  and  had  some  notions  respect- 
ing the  various  physical  forces;  but  their  knowledge  of 
what  until  recently  was  known  as  natural  philosophy  was 
extremely  limited.  Aristotle,  Pythagoras  and  Archimedes 
were  among  the  most  successful  investigators  of  their  time 
respecting  the  laws  and  properties  of  matter,  and  contrib- 
uted materially  to  the  advancement  of  knowledge  regarding 
the  phenomena  of  the  material  universe ;  but  the  sum  total 
of  their  information  of  what  we  now  know  as  physics  could 
be  embodied  in  a  few  pages. 

In  view  of  the  foregoing  facts,  we  should  not  expect  to 
find  women  engaged  in  the  study,  much  less  in  the  teaching, 
of  physical  science  during  ancient  times.  And  yet,  if  we 
are  to  credit  Boccaccio,  who  bases  his  statements  on  those 
of  early  Greek  writers,  there  was  at  least  one  woman  that 
won  distinction  by  her  knowledge  of  natural  philosophy 
as  early  as  the  days  of  Socrates.  In  his  work,  De  Laudibus 
Mulierum,  which  treats  of  the  achievements  of  some  of  the 
illustrious  representatives  of  the  gentler  sex,  the  genial 
author  of  the  Decameron  gives  special  praise  to  one  Arete 
of  Cyrene  for  the  breadth  and  variety  of  her  attainments. 
She  was  the  daughter  of  Aristippus,  the  founder  of  the 
Cyrenaic  school  of  philosophy,  and  is  represented  as  being 
a  veritable  prodigy  of  learning.     For  among  her  many 

197 


198  .WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

claims  to  distinction  she  is  said  to  have  publicly  taught 
natural  and  moral  philosophy  in  the  schools  and  academies 
of  Attica  for  thirty-five  years,  to  have  written  forty  books, 
and  to  have  counted  among  her  pupils  one  hundred  and 
ten  philosophers.  She  was  so  highly  esteemed  by  her 
countrymen  that  they  inscribed  on  her  tomb  an  epitaph 
which  declared  that  she  was  the  splendor  of  Greece  and 
possessed  the  beauty  of  Helen,  the  virtue  of  Thirma,  the 
pen  of  Aristippus,  the  soul  of  Socrates,  and  the  tongue  of 
Homer.1 

This  is  high  praise,  indeed,  but,  when  we  recollect  that 
Arete  lived  during  the  golden  age  of  Greek  learning  and 
culture,  that  she  had  exceptional  opportunities  of  acquiring 
knowledge  in  every  department  of  intellectual  effort ;  when 
we  recall  the  large  number  of  women  who,  in  their  time, 
distinguished  themselves  by  their  learning  and  accomplish- 
ment, and  reflect  on  the  advantages  they  enjoyed  as  pupils 
of  the  ablest  teachers  of  the  Lyceum,  the  Portico,  and  the 
Academy;  when  we  remember  further  that  they  lived  in 
an  atmosphere  of  intelligence  such  as  has  since  been  un- 
known; when  we  call  to  mind  the  signal  success  that  re- 
warded the  pursuit  of  knowledge  by  the  scores  of  women 
mentioned  by  Athenaeus  and  other  Greek  writers;  when 
we  peruse  the  fragmentary  notices  of  their  achievements 
as  recorded  in  the  pages  of  more  recent  investigators  re- 
garding the  educational  facilities  of  a  certain  class  of 

i"Publiee  philosophiam  naturalem  et  moralem  in  scholis  Aca- 
demiisque    Atticis    docuit    haec    foemina    annis    XXXV,    libros   com- 
posuit    XL,    discipulos    habuit    philosophos    CX,    obiit    anno    aetatis 
LXXVII,  cui  tale  Athenienses  statuere  epitaphium: 
Nobilis  hie  Arete  dormit,  lux  Helladis,  ore 

Tyndaris  at  tibi  par,  Icarioti,  fide. 
Patris  Aristippi  calamumque  animamque  dederunt, 
Socratis  huic  linguani  Maeonidaeque  Dii. " 

— Boccaccio,  Be  Laudibus  Mulierum,  Lib.  II. 

Cf.  Wolf's  Mulierum  Grcecarum  quce  Oratione  Prosa   Usee  Sunt 
Fragmenta  et  Elogia,  pp.  283  et  seq.,  London,  1739. 


WOMEN    IN    PHYSICS  199 

women  living  in  Athens  and  the  eminence  which  they  at- 
tained in  science,  philosophy  and  literature,  we  can  realize 
that  the  character  and  amount  of  Arete 's  work  as  an  author 
and  as  a  teacher  have  not  been  overestimated. 

Living  in  an  age  of  prodigious  mental  activity,  when 
women,  as  well  as  men,  were  actuated  by  an  abiding  love 
of  knowledge  for  its  own  sake,  there  is  nothing  surprising 
in  finding  a  woman  like  Arete  commanding  the  admiration 
of  her  countrymen  by  her  learning  and  eloquence.  For 
was  not  the  learned  and  eloquent  Aspasia  her  contempor- 
ary? And  did  not  Theano,  the  wife  of  Pythagoras,  take 
charge  of  her  husband's  school  after  his  death;  and  does 
not  antiquity  credit  her  with  being  not  only  a  successful 
teacher  of  philosophy,  but  also  a  writer  of  books  of  recog- 
nized value?  Such  being  the  case,  what  is  there  incred- 
ible in  the  statements  made  by  ancient  writers  regarding 
the  literary  activity  of  Arete,  and  about  her  eminence  as  a 
teacher  of  science  and  philosophy?  She  was  but  one  of 
many  of  the  Greek  women  of  her  age  that  won  renown  by 
their  gifts  of  intellect  and  by  their  contributions  to  the 
educational  work  of  their  time  and  country. 

Better  known  than  Arete,  but  probably  not  superior  to 
her  as  a  teacher  or  writer,  was  the  illustrious  Hypatia  of 
Alexandria.  She,  too,  like  her  distinguished  predecessor 
in  Athens,  was  an  instructor  in  natural  philosophy,  as  well 
as  other  branches  of  science.  Of  her  we  know  more  than 
we  do  of  the  daughter  of  Aristippus,  but  even  our  knowl- 
edge of  the  acquisitions  and  achievements  of  Hypatia  is, 
unfortunately,  extremely  meager.  We  do,  however,  know 
from  the  historian,  Socrates,  and  from  Synesius,  bishop  of 
Ptolemais,  who  was  her  pupil,  that  she  was  one  of  the  most 
richly  dowered  women  of  all  time.  Born  and  educated  in 
Alexandria  when  its  schools  and  scholars  were  the  most 
celebrated  in  the  world,  she  was  even  at  an  early  age  re- 
garded as  a  marvel  of  learning.  For,  not  satisfied  with 
excelling  her  father,  Theon,  in  mathematics,  of  which  he 


200  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

was  a  distinguished  professor,  she,  as  Suidas  informs  us, 
devoted  herself  to  the  study  of  philosophy  with  such  success 
that  she  was  soon  regarded  as  the  ablest  living  exponent  of 
the  doctrines  of  Plato  and  Aristotle.  "Her  knowledge," 
writes  the  historian,  Socrates,  "was  so  great  that  she  far 
surpassed  all  the  philosophers  of  her  time.  And  succeed- 
ing Plotinus,  in  the  Platonic  school  which  he  had  founded 
in  the  city  of  Alexandria,  she  taught  all  the  branches  of 
philosophy  with  such  signal  success  that  students  flocked 
to  her  in  crowds  from  all  parts."1  Her  home,  as  well  as 
her  lecture  room,  was  the  resort  of  the  most  noted  scholars 
of  the  day,  and  was,  with  the  exception  of  the  Library  and 
the  Museum,  the  most  frequented  intellectual  center  of  the 
great  city  of  learning  and  culture.  Small  wonder,  then, 
that  her  contemporaries  lauded  her  as  an  oracle  and  as 
the  most  brilliant  luminary  in  Alexandria's  splendid  gal- 
axy of  thinkers  and  scholars — sapientis  artis  sidus  integer- 
rimum. 

Among  the  many  inventions  attributed  to  Hypatia,  be- 
sides the  planisphere  and  astrolabe  which  she  designed  for 
the  use  of  astronomers,  are  several  employed  in  the  study 
of  natural  philosophy.  Probably  the  most  useful  of  these 
is  an  areometer  mentioned  by  her  pupil  Synesius.  He  calls 
it  a  hydroscope  and  describes  it  as  having  the  form  and 
size  of  a  flute,  and  graduated  in  such  wise  that  it  can  be 
used  for  determining  the  density  of  liquids.  That  Hypatia 
was  thoroughly  familiar  with  the  science  of  natural  philos- 
ophy, as  then  known,  there  can  be  no  doubt.  That  she  also 
contributed  materially  to  its  advancement,  as  well  as  to 

i"Mulier  qusedam  fuit  Alexandria,  nomine  Hypatia,  Theonis 
filia.  Haec  ad  tantam  eruditionem  pervenerat  ut  omnes  sui  tem- 
poris  philosophos  longo  intervallo  superaret,  et  in  Platonicam  scholam 
a  Plotino  deductam  succederet,  cunctasque  philosophise  disciplinas 
auditoribus  exponeret.  Quocirca  omnes  philosophise  studiosi  ad  illam 
undique  confluebant. ' '  Socrates,  Eistoriw  Ecclesiastical,  Lib.  VII, 
Cap.  15. 


WOMEN    IN    PHYSICS  201 

that  of  astronomy,  in  which  she  always  exhibited  a  special 
interest,  there  is  every  reason  to  believe.1 

After  the  death  of  Hypatia,  the  study  of  natural  philoso- 
phy was  almost  entirely  neglected  for  more  than  a  thou- 
sand years.  The  first  woman  in  modern  times  to  attract 
attention  by  her  discussion  of  physical  problems  was  the 
famous  Marquise  du  Chatelet,  although  she  was  better 
known  as  a  mathematician  and  as  the  translator  into  the 
French  of  Newton's  Principia.  In  her  chateau  at  Cirey 
she  had  a  well-equipped  physical  cabinet  in  which  she  took 
special  delight.  But  in  her  time,  as  in  that  of  Hypatia, 
natural  philosophy  was  far  from  being  the  broad  experi-. 
mental  science  which  it  has  become  through  the  marvelous 
discoveries  made  in  heat,  light,  electricity  and  magnetism 
during  the  last  hundred  years,  as  well  as  through  those 
countless  brilliant  investigations  which  have  led  up  to 
our  present  doctrine  of  the  correlation  and  conservation 
of  the  various  physical  forces.  There  was  then  no  occasion 
for  those  delicate  instruments  of  precision  which  are  now 
found  in  every  physical  laboratory  by  means  of  which  the 
man  of  science  is  able  to  investigate  phenomena  and  deter- 
mine laws  that  were  quite  unknown  until  a  few  years  ago. 

In  the  time  of  Mme.  du  Chatelet,  as  during  the  century 
following,  natural  philosophy  consisted  rather  in  the  me- 
chanical and  mathematical  than  in  the  physical  study  of 
nature.  This  is  illustrated  by  the  title  of  the  great  work 
on  the  translation  of  which  she  spent  the  best  years  of  her 
life — Newton's  immortal  Philosophic^  Naturalis  Principia 
Mathematica. 

The  Marquise's  first  scientific  work  was  an  investigation 
regarding  the  nature  of  fire.     The  French  Academy  of 

i  For  extracts  from  the  ancient  authors  regarding  Hypatia,  as 
well  as  for  the  extant  letters  to  her  from  her  friend  and  pupil, 
Synesius,  the  reader  is  referred  to  Wolf's  erudite  Mulierum  Grce- 
carum  quce  Oratione  Prosa  Usee  sunt  Fragmenta  et  Elogia,  pp. 
72-91,  ut  sup. 


202  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

Sciences  had  offered  a  prize  for  the  best  memoir  on  the 
subject.  Among  the  contestants  for  the  coveted  honor 
were  the  chatelaine  of  Cirey  and  the  celebrated  Swiss 
mathematician,  Leonard  Euler.  The  Marquise  was  unsuc- 
cessful in  the  contest,  but  her  paper  was  of  such  value  that 
the  eminent  physicist  and  astronomer,  Arago,  was  able  to 
characterize  it  as  an  "  elegant  piece  of  work,  embracing  all 
the  facts  relating  to  the  subject  then  known  to  science  and 
containing  among  the  experiments  suggested  one  which 
proved  so  fecund  in  the  hands  of  Herschel."  In  this  re- 
markable Memoire  sur  le  Feu,  which  is  printed  in  the 
Collections  of  the  Academy,  the  Marquise  anticipates  the 
results  of  subsequent  researches  of  others  by  maintaining 
that  both  heat  and  light  have  the  same  cause,  or,  as  we 
should  now  say,  are  both  modes  of  motion. 

The  second  book  written  by  this  remarkable  woman  is 
entitled  Institutions  de  Physique,  and  was  dedicated  to  her 
son,  for  whose  benefit  it  was  primarily  written.  It  deals 
specially  with  the  philosophy  of  Leibnitz  and  discusses 
such  questions  as  force,  time  and  space.  Her  views  respect- 
ing the  nature  of  the  force  called  vis  viva,  which  was  much 
discussed  in  her  time,  are  of  particular  interest,  as  they 
are  not  only  opposed  to  those  which  were  held  by  Descartes 
and  Newton,  but  also  because  they  are  in  essential  accord 
with  those  now  accepted  in  the  world  of  science. 

All  things  considered,  the  Marquise  du  Chatelet  deserv- 
edly takes  high  rank  in  the  history  of  mathematical 
physics.  In  this  department  of  science  she  has  had  few, 
if  any,  superiors  among  her  own  sex.  And,  when  we  recol- 
lect that  she  labored  while  the  foundations  of  dynamics 
were  still  being  laid,  we  shall  more  readily  appreciate  the 
difficulties  she  had  to  contend  with  and  the  distinct  service 
which  her  researches  and  writings  rendered  to  the  cause 
of  natural  philosophy  among  her  contemporaries. 

The  first  woman  to  occupy  a  chair  of  physics  in  a  uni- 
versity was  the  famous  daughter  of  Italy,  Laura  Maria 


WOMEN    IN    PHYSICS  203 

Catarina  Bassi.  She  was  born  in  Bologna  in  1711 — but 
five  years  after  the  birth  of  Madame  du  Chatelet — and 
from  her  most  tender  years  she  exhibited  an  exceptional 
facility  for  the  acquisition  of  knowledge. 

After  she  had,  through  the  assistance  of  excellent  mas- 
ters, become  proficient  in  French  and  Latin,  she  took  up 
the  study  of  logic,  metaphysics  and  natural  philosophy.  In 
all  these  branches  of  learning  her  progress  was  so  rapid 
that  it  far  exceeded  the  fondest  expectations  of  her  parents 
and  teachers.  Thanks  to  a  wonderful  memory  and  a  highly 
developed  reasoning  faculty,  she  was  able,  while  still  a 
young  maiden,  to  prove  herself  the  possessor  of  knowledge 
that  is  ordinarily  obtained  only  in  the  maturity  of  age 
and  after  long  years  of  systematic  study. 

When  she  had  attained  the  twenty-first  year  of  her  age 
she  was  induced  by  her  family  and  friends — much  against 
her  own  inclination,  however — to  take  part  in  a  public 
disputation  on  philosophy.  Her  entering  the  lists  against 
some  of  the  most  distinguished  scholars  of  the  time  was 
made  the  occasion  for  an  unusual  demonstration  in  her 
honor.  The  hall  of  the  university  in  which  such  intellectual 
jousts  were  generally  held  was  too  small  for  the  multitude 
that  was  eager  to  witness  the  young  girl's  formal  appear- 
ance among  the  scholars  and  the  notables  of  the  old  uni- 
versity city.  It  was,  accordingly,  arranged  that  the  dis- 
putation should  be  held  in  the  great  hall  of  the  public  Pal- 
ace of  the  Senators. 

Among  the  vast  assemblage  present  at  the  disputation 
were  Cardinal  Grimaldi,  the  papal  legate;  Cardinal  Arch- 
bishop Lambertini,  afterwards  Pope  Benedict  XIV;  the 
gonfalonier,  senators,  literati  from  far  and  near,  leading 
members  of  the  nobility  and  representatives  of  all  the  re- 
ligious orders. 

When  the  argumentation  began  the  young  girl  found 
herself  pitted  against  five  of  the  most  distinguished  scholars 
of  Bologna.    But  she  was  fully  equal  to  the  occasion  and 


204  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

passed  the  ordeal  to  which  she  was  subjected  in  a  mannei 
that  excited  the  admiration  and  won  the  plaudits  of  all 
present.  Cardinal  Lambertini  was  so  impressed  with  the 
brilliant  defence  which  she  had  made  against  the  five 
trained  dialecticians  and  the  evidence  she  gave  of  varied 
and  profound  learning  that  he  paid  her  a  special  visit  the 
next  day  in  her  own  home  to  renew  his  congratulations  on 
her  signal  triumph  and  to  encourage  her  to  continue  the 
prosecution  of  her  studies. 

In  less  than  a  month  after  this  interesting  event  Laura 
Bassi,  in  response  to  the  expressed  desire  of  the  whole 
of  Bologna,  presented  herself  as  a  candidate  for  the  doc- 
torate in  philosophy.  This  was  the  occasion  for  a  still 
more  brilliant  and  imposing  ceremony.  It  was  held  in  the 
spacious  Hall  of  Hercules  in  the  Communal  Palace,  which 
was  magnificently  decorated  for  the  splendid  function.  In 
addition  to  the  distinguished  personages  who  had  been 
spectators  of  the  fair  student's  triumph  a  few  weeks  be- 
fore, there  was  present  in  the  vast  audience  the  noted 
French  ecclesiastic,  Cardinal  Polignac,  who  was  on  his 
way  from  Rome  to  France. 

The  heroine  of  the  hour,  dressed  in  a  black  gown,  was 
ushered  into  the  great  hall,  preceded  by  two  college  beadles 
and  accompanied  by  two  of  the  most  prominent  ladies  of 
the  Bolognese  nobility.  She  was  given  a  seat  between  the 
chancellor  and  the  prior  of  the  university,  who,  in  turn, 
were  flanked  by  the  professors  and  officials  of  the  in- 
stitution. 

After  the  usual  preliminaries  of  the  function  were  over 
the  prior  of  the  university,  Doctor  Bazzani,  rose  and  pro- 
nounced an  eloquent  discourse  in  Latin  to  which  Laura 
made  a  suitable  response  in  the  same  language.  She  was 
then  crowned  with  a  laurel  wreath  exquisitely  wrought  in 
silver,  and  had  thrown  round  her  the  vajo,  or  university 
gown,  both  symbols  of  the  doctorate.  After  this  the  young 
doctor  proceeded  to  where  the  three  cardinals  were  seated, 


WOMEN    IN    PHYSICS  205 

and  in  delicately  chosen  words,  also  in  Latin,  expressed  to 
them  her  thanks  for  the  honor  of  their  presence.  All  then 
withdrew  to  the  apartments  of  the  gonfalonier,  where  re- 
freshments were  served  in  sumptuous  style,  after  which  the 
young  Laureata,  accompanied  by  a  numerous  cortege  and 
applauded  by  the  entire  city,  was  escorted  to  her  home. 

So  profound  was  the  impression  made  on  the  university 
senate  by  the  deep  erudition  of  Laura  Bassi  that  it  was 
eager  to  secure  her  services  in  its  teaching  body.  But, 
before  she  could  be  offered  a  chair  in  the  institution,  long- 
established  custom  required  that  she  should  pass  a  public 
examination  on  the  subject  matter  which  she  was  to  teach. 
Five  examiners  were  chosen  by  lot,  and  all  of  them  proved 
to  be  men  whose  names,  says  Fantuzzi,  "will  always  be 
held  by  our  university  in  glorious  remembrance. ' '  They 
had  all  to  promise  under  oath  that  the  candidate  for  the 
chair  should  have  no  knowledge  before  the  examination 
of  the  questions  which  were  to  be  asked,  and  that  the  test 
of  the  aspirant's  qualifications  to  fill  the  position  sought 
should  be  absolutely  free  from  any  suspicion  of  favoritism 
or  partiality. 

Notwithstanding  the  difficulties  she  had  to  confront, 
Laura  acquitted  herself  with  even  greater  credit  than  on 
former  occasions  of  a  similar  character.  There  was  no 
question  in  the  mind  of  any  one  present  at  the  examination 
of  the  candidate's  ability  to  fill  the  chair  of  physics,  and 
it  was,  accordingly,  offered  to  her  by  acclamation. 

The  first  public  lecture  of  the  gifted  young  dottoressa 
was  made  the  occasion  of  a  demonstration  such  as  the  old 
walls  of  the  university  had  rarely  witnessed.  Her  lecture 
room  was  thronged  by  the  elite  of  the  city,  as  well  as  by  a 
large  class  of  enthusiastic  students.  All  were  charmed  by 
her  eloquence  and  amazed  at  the  complete  mastery  she 
evinced  of  the  subject  she  had  selected  for  discussion.  From 
that  day  forth  her  reputation  as  a  scholar  and  a  teacher 
was  established,  and  her  lectures  were  attended  by  appre- 


206  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

ciative  students  from  all  parts  of  Europe.  She  was  espe- 
cially popular  with  the  students  from  Greece,  Germany 
and  Poland,  and  her  popularity,  far  from  waning,  waxed 
greater  with  the  passing  years. 

At  the  time  of  Laura's  entering  upon  her  professional 
career  the  senate  of  Bologna  had  a  medal  coined  in  her 
honor,  on  the  obverse  of  which  was  her  name  and  effigy, 
while  on  the  reverse  there  was  an  image  of  Minerva,  with 
the  inscription,  Soli  cui  fas  vidisse  Minervam. 

Far  from  interrupting  her  studies,  which  had  hitherto 
been  the  joy  of  her  life,  Laura's  university  work  gave  new 
zest  to  the  literary  and  scientific  pursuits  which  had  al- 
ways such  a  fascination  for  her.  Among  the  subjects  that 
specially  engaged  her  attention  were  studies  so  diverse  as 
Greek  and  the  higher  mathematics.  She  was  particularly 
interested  in  the  great  physico-mathematical  work  of  New- 
ton, and  did  not  rest  until  she  had  thoroughly  mastered 
the  contents  of  his  epoch-making  Principia. 

A  few  years  after  she  had  become  a  member  of  the  uni- 
versity faculty  Laura  was  a  European  celebrity,  and  no 
one  eminent  by  learning  or  birth  passed  through  Bologna 
without  availing  himself  of  the  opportunity  of  making  the 
acquaintance  of  so  extraordinary  a  woman.  Men  of  sci- 
ence and  letters  vied  with  princes  and  emperors  in  doing 
honor  to  one  who  was  looked  upon  by  many  as  being,  like 
Arete  of  old,  endowed  with  a  soul  and  a  genius  far  above 
that  of  ordinary  mortals,  and  as  being  the  possessor  of  a 
talent  that  indicated  something  superhuman. 

Laura  Bassi  was  in  constant  correspondence  with  the 
most  celebrated  scholars  of  Europe,  and  more  especially 
with  those  who  had  attained  eminence  in  her  special  line 
of  work.  Among  the  letters  received  from  her  illustrious 
correspondents  were  two  from  Voltaire.  They  were  writ- 
ten shortly  after  the  author  had  been  refused  admittance 
into  the  French  academy.  He  then  bethought  himself  of 
securing    membership    in   the    Academy    of    Sciences    of 


WOMEN    IN    PHYSICS  207 

Bologna.  This,  he  reasoned,  would  be  a  splendid  tribute 
to  the  versatility  of  his  genius  and  would,  at  the  same  time, 
be  a  biting  satire  on  the  demigods  of  French  literature  who 
had  dared  to  exclude  him  from  their  society. 

That  he  might  not  meet  the  same  refusal  on  the  part  of 
the  Academy  of  Bologna  as  he  had  experienced  in  Paris, 
Voltaire  determined  not  to  rely  entirely  on  the  good  will 
of  the  male  members  of  the  Bolognese  academy.  He  ac- 
cordingly resolved  to  enlist  the  services  of  Laura  Bassi, 
who  was  one  of  the  leading  members  of  this  distinguished 
body,  and  trust  to  her  influence  in  his  behalf  on  the  hearts 
of  her  colleagues. 

The  first  letter,  written  in  Italian,  is  so  characteristic  of 
the  writer  that  it  will  bear  reproduction. 

"Most  Illustrious  Lady/'  he  writes  from  Paris,  the  23d 
of  November,  1744,  "I  have  been  wishing  to  journey  to 
Bologna  in  order  to  be  able  one  day  to  tell  my  countrymen 
I  have  seen  Signora  Bassi;  but,  being  deprived  of  this 
honor,  let  it  at  least  be  permitted  me  to  place  at  your  feet 
this  philosophic  homage  and  to  salute  the  honor  of  her  age 
and  of  women.  There  is  not  a  Bassi  in  London,  and  I 
should  be  more  happy  to  be  a  member  of  the  Academy  of 
Bologna  than  of  that  of  the  English,  although  it  has  pro- 
duced a  Newton.  If  your  protection  should  obtain  for  me 
this  title,  of  which  I  am  so  ambitious,  the  gratitude  of  my 
heart  will  be  equal  to  my  admiration  for  yourself.  I  beg 
you  to  excuse  the  style  of  a  foreigner  who  presumes  to 
write  you  in  Italian,  but  who  is  as  great  an  admirer  of 
yours  as  if  he  were  born  in  Bologna." 

The  second  letter  of  Voltaire  is  in  response  to  one  re- 
ceived from  Laura  Bassi  announcing  that  he  had  been 
elected  to  membership  in  the  Bologna  Academy.  The  first 
sentence  of  it  suffices  to  indicate  its  tenor.  "Nothing," 
he  writes,  "was  ever  more  grateful  to  me  than  to  receive 
from  your  hand  the  first  advice  that  I  had  the  honor,  by 
means  of  your  favor,  of  being  united  by  this  new  link  to 


208  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

one  who  had  already  bound  me  to  her  car  by  all  the  chains 
of  esteem  and  admiration."1 

Like  so  many  of  her  gifted  sisters  of  sunny  Italy,  Laura 
was  in  every  way  "a  perfect  woman  nobly  planned."  Of 
a  deeply  religious  nature,  she  was  as  pious  as  she  was  intel- 
ligent, and  was  throughout  her  life  the  devoted  friend  of 
the  poor  and  the  afflicted.  The  mother  of  twelve  children, 
she  never  permitted  her  scientific  and  literary  work  to  con- 
flict with  her  domestic  duties  or  to  detract  in  the  least 
from  the  singular  affection  which  so  closely  united  her  to 
her  husband  and  children.  She  was  as  much  at  home  with 
the  needle  and  the  spindle  as  she  was  with  her  books  and 
the  apparatus  of  her  laboratory.  And  she  was  equally 
admirable  whether  superintending  her  household,  looking 
after  her  children,  entertaining  the  great  and  the  learned 
of  the  world,  or  in  holding  the  rapt  attention  of  her  stu- 
dents in  the  lecture  room.  She  was,  indeed,  a  living  proof 
that  higher  education  is  not  incompatible  with  woman's 
natural  avocations ;  and  that  cerebral  development  does  not 
lead  to  race  suicide  and  all  the  other  dire  results  attributed 
to  it  by  a  certain  class  of  our  modern  sociologists  and  anti- 
feminists. 

Considering  her  manifold  duties  as  a  professor  in  the 
university  and  the  mother  of  a  large  family,  it  was  scarcely 
to  be  expected  that  Laura  Bassi  would  have  much  time  for 
writing  for  the  press.  She  was,  however,  able  to  devote 
some  of  her  leisure  moments  to  the  cultivation  of  the  Muses, 
of  whom,  Fantuzzi  informs  us,  she  was  a  favorite.  Her 
verses,  as  well  as  her  contributions  to  the  science  of  physics, 
are  scattered  through  various  publications,  but  they  suffice 
to  show  that  the  accounts  of  her  transmitted  to  us  by  her 
contemporaries  were  not  exaggerated.2 

i  Ernesto  Masi,  Studi  e  Eitratti,  p.  166  et  seq.,  Bologna,  1881. 

2  Two  of  her  Latin  dissertations  on  certain  physical  problems 
were  published  in  the  Commentaries  of  the  Bologna  Institute.  One 
of  them  is  entitled  Be  Problemate  quodam  Mechanico ;  the  other  Be 


WOMEN    IN    PHYSICS  209 

A  learned  French  traveler  who  visited  Laura  in  Bologna 
describes  her  as  having  a  face  that  was  sweet,  serious  and 
modest.  Her  eyes  were  dark  and  sparkling,  and  she  was 
blessed  with  a  powerful  memory,  a  solid  judgment,  and  a 
ready  imagination.  "She  conversed  fluently  with  me  in 
Latin  for  an  hour  with  grace  and  precision.  She  is  very 
proficient  in  metaphysics ;  but  she  prefers  modern  physics, 
particularly  that  of  Newton. ' ' 

How  many  of  our  college  women  of  to-day  could  readily 
carry  on  a  conversation  in  Latin,  if  this  were  the  sole 
medium  of  communication,  or  discuss  the  philosophy  of 
Plato  and  Aristotle  in  the  tongue  of  Cicero,  or  give  public 
lectures  on  the  physico-mathematical  discoveries  of  Des- 
cartes and  Newton  in  what  was  the  universal  language  of 
the  learned  world,  even  less  than  a  century  ago  ? 

It  must  not,  however,  be  inferred  from  the  foregoing 
statements  regarding  the  great  intellectual  capacity  of 
Laura  Bassi  or  the  enthusiastic  demonstrations  that  were  so 
frequently  made  in  her  honor  that  she  was  unique  in  this 
respect  among  her  countrywomen.  Special  attention  has 
been  called  to  her  as  a  type  of  the  large  number  of  her 
sex  who,  by  their  learning  and  culture,  graced  the  courts 
and  honored  the  universities  of  her  country  for  full  ten 
centuries.  Scarcely  had  death  removed  Laura  Bassi  from 
a  career  in  which  for  twenty-eight  years  she  had  won  the 
plaudits  of  the  whole  of  Europe,  when  the  University  of 
Bologna  welcomed  to  its  learned  halls  two  other  women 
who,  in  their  respective  lines  of  research,  were  fully  as  emi- 
nent as  their  departed  countrywoman.  These  were  Maria 
dalle  Donne,  for  whom  Napoleon  established  a  chair  of 
obstetrics,  and  Clotilda  Tambroni,  the  famous  professor  of 
Greek,  of  whom  a  noted  Hellenist  declared,  "Only  three 

Trohlemate  quodam  Hydrometrieo.  Many  of  her  lectures  on  physics 
still  exist  in  manuscript,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  at  least  the 
titles  of  them  may  be  given  in  a  biography  of  the  learned  author 
which  has  been  long  desired  and  long  promised. 


210  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

persons  in  Europe  are  able  to  write  Greek  as  well  as  she 
does,  and  not  more  than  fifteen  are  able  to  understand 
her.,, 

Burckhardt,  in  his  thoughtful  work  on  the  culture  of  the 
Italian  Renaissance,  has  a  paragraph  which  expresses,  in  a 
few  words,  what  was  always  the  attitude  of  the  Italian 
father  toward  the  education  of  his  daughter. 

"The  education  of  the  woman  of  the  upper  class  was 
absolutely  the  same  as  that  of  the  man.  The  Italian  of  the 
Renaissance  did  not  for  a  moment  hesitate  to  give  his  son 
and  daughter  the  same  literary  and  philosophical  training. 
He  considered  the  knowledge  of  the  works  of  antiquity 
life's  greatest  good,  and  he  could  not,  therefore,  deny  to 
woman  participation  in  such  knowledge.  Hence  the  per- 
fection attained  by  the  daughters  of  noble  families  in  writ- 
ing and  speaking  Latin."1 

This  attitude  of  the  members  of  the  nobility  toward  the 
education  of  their  daughters  was  essentially  the  same  as 
that  of  the  universities  of  Italy  toward  women  who  had  a 
thirst  for  knowledge.  For  from  the  dawn  of  learning  in 
Salerno  to  the  present  there  never  was  a  time  when  women 
were  not  as  cordially  welcomed  to  the  universities  as  stu- 
dents and  professors  as  were  the  men;  and  never  a  time 
when  the  merit  of  intellectual  work  was  not  determined 
without  regard  to  sex. 

In  Bologna,  where  were  passed  the  sixty-seven  years  of 
her  mortal  life,  the  name  of  Laura  Bassi,  like  that  of  her 
illustrious  colleague,  Luigi  Galvani,  is  one  to  conjure  with, 
and  a  name  that  is  still  pronounced  with  respect  and  rever- 
ence. Her  last  resting  place  is  in  the  Church  of  Corpus 
Domini,  the  same  sacred  shrine  in  which  were  deposited  all 
that  was  mortal  of  the  renowned  discoverer  of  galvanic  elec- 
tricity.2 

1  Die  Cultur  der  "Renaissance  in  Italien,  Vol.  I,  p.  363,  1869. 

2  As  no  satisfactory  biography  of  Laura  Bassi  has  yet  been  writ- 
ten, most  of  our  knowledge  respecting  her  is  limited  to  that  found 


WOMEN    IN    PHYSICS  211 

Two  years  after  Signora  Bassi  was  gathered  to  her 
fathers  there  was  born  near  Edinburgh  to  a  Scotch  admiral, 
Sir  William  George  Fairfax,  an  infant  daughter  who  was 
destined  to  shed  as  much  luster  on  her  sex  in  the  British 
Isles  as  the  incomparable  Laura  Bassi  had  diffused  on 
womankind  in  Italy  during  her  brilliant  career  in  "Bo- 
logna, the  learned. ' '  She  is  known  in  the  annals  of  science 
as  Mary  Somerville,  and  was  in  every  way  a  worthy  suc- 
cessor of  her  famous  sister  in  Italy,  both  as  a  woman  and 
as  a  votary  of  science. 

Although  her  chief  title  to  fame  is  her  notable  work  in 
mathematical  astronomy,  especially  her  translation  of  La- 
place's Mechanique  Celeste,  she  is  likewise  to  be  accorded  a 
prominent  place  among  scientific  investigators  for  her  con- 
tributions to  physics  and  cognate  branches  of  knowledge. 
Chief  among  these  are  her  works  on  the  Connection  of  the 
Physical  Sciences  and  Physical  Geography.  As  to  the  last 
production,  no  less  an  authority  than  Alexander  von  Hum- 
boldt pronounced  it  an  exact  and  admirable  treatise,  and 
wrote  of  it  as  ' '  that  excellent  work  which  has  charmed  and 
instructed  me  since  its  first  appearance." 

In  a  letter  from  the  illustrious  German  savant  to  the 
gifted  authoress  of  the  two  last-named  volumes  occurs  the 
following  paragraph:  "To  the  great  superiority  you  pos- 
sess and  which  has  so  nobly  illustrated  your  name  on  the 
high  regions  of  mathematical  analysis,  you  add,  Madam, 
a  variety  of  information  in  all  parts  of  physics  and  descrip- 
tive natural  history.  After  the  Mechanism  of  the  Heavens, 
the  philosophical  Connection  of  the  Physical  Sciences  has 
befn  the  object  of  my  profound  admiration.  .  .  .  The 
author  of  the  vast  Cosmos  should  more  than  any  one  else 
salute  the  Physical  Geography  of  Mary  Somerville.  ...    I 

in  Fantuzzi's  Notizie  degli  Scrittori  Bolognesi,  Tom.  I,  pp.  384-391, 
and  Mazzuchelli's  Gli  Scrittori  d' Italia,  Vol.  II,  Part  I,  pp.  527-529, 
Brescia,  1758. 


313  LWOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

know  of  no  work  on  physical  geography  in  any  language 
that  can  compare  with  yours." 

Among  the  other  works  by  Mrs.  Somerville,  treating  of 
physical  subjects  or  of  subjects  intimately  related  to  phys- 
ics are  The  Form  and  Rotation  of  the  Earth,  The  Tides 
oj  the  Ocean  and  Atmosphere,  and  an  abstruse  investiga- 
tion On  Molecular  and  Microscopic  Science.  The  last  vol- 
ume was  published  in  1869,  when  its  author  was  near  her 
ninetieth  year,  and  bore  as  its  motto  St.  Augustine's  sub- 
lime words:  Deus  magnus  in  magnis,  maximus  in  minimis 
— God  is  great  in  great  things,  greatest  in  the  least. 

After  Mrs.  Somerville 's  death,  in  1872,  at  the  advanced 
age  of  ninety-two,  the  number  of  women  who  devoted  them- 
selves to  the  study  and  teaching  of  physics  was  greatly 
augmented.  The  brilliant  success  of  Laura  Bassi  and 
Mary  Somerville  had  not  been  without  results,  and  their 
notable  achievements  as  authors  and  teachers  had  the  effect 
of  stimulating  women  everywhere  to  emulate  their  example, 
and  encouraging  them  to  devote  more  attention  to  a 
branch  of  science  which,  until  then,  had  been  regarded  by 
the  general  public  as  beyond  the  sphere  and  capacity  of 
what  was  assumed  to  be  the  intellectually  weaker  sex. 

One  of  the  most  eminent  scientific  women  of  the  present 
day  in  England  is  Mrs.  Ayrton,  the  wife  of  the  late  Pro- 
fessor W.  E.  Ayrton,  the  well-known  electrician.  Her 
chosen  field  of  research,  like  that  of  her  husband,  has  been 
electricity,  in  which  she  has  achieved  marked  distinction. 
Her  investigations  on  the  electric  arc  and  on  the  sand 
ripples  of  the  seashore  won  for  her  the  first  medal  ever 
awarded  to  a  woman  by  the  Royal  Society.  When,  how- 
ever, in  1902,  she  was  formally  nominated  for  fellowship 
in  this  same  society,  she  failed  of  election  because  the  coun- 
cil of  the  society  discovered  that  ' '  it  had  no  legal  power  to 
elect  a  married  woman  to  this  distinction." 

How  different  it  was  in  the  case  of  Laura  Bassi,  who  was 
an  active  member  of  all  the  leading  scientific  and  literary 


WOMEN    IN    PHYSICS  213 

societies  of  Italy,  where  from  time  immemorial  women  have 
been  as  cordially  welcomed  to  membership  in  its  learned 
Societies  as  to  the  chairs  of  its  great  universities. 

The  list  of  the  women  who  in  Europe  and  America  are 
now  engaged  in  physical  research  and  in  teaching  physics 
in  schools  and  colleges  is  a  long  one,  and  the  work  accom- 
plished by  them  is,  in  many  cases,  of  a  high  order  of  merit, 
[t  is  only,  indeed,  during  the  present  generation  that  such 
work  has  been  made  generally  accessible  to  them ;  and,  con- 
sidering the  success  which  has  already  attended  their  efforts 
in  this  branch  of  science,  we  have  every  reason  to  believe 
hat  the  future  will  bring  forth  many  others  of  their  sex 
who  will  take  rank  with  such  intellectual  luminaries  as 
Bypatia,  Mme.  du  Chatelet,  Laura  Bassi  and  Mary  Somer- 
rille. 


CHAPTER   VI 

WOMEN   IN   CHEMISTRY 

The  first  woman  deserving  special  mention  in  the  history 
of  chemistry  is  the  wife  of  the  immortal  Lavoisier,  the  most 
famous  of  the  founders  of  modern  chemical  science.  While 
yet  in  her  teens,  this  remarkable  woman  gave  evidence  of 
exceptional  intelligence  and  will  power.  She  was  thor- 
oughly devoted  to  her  husband,  and  had  the  greatest  admi- 
ration for  his  genius.  Her  highest  ambition  was  to  prove 
herself  worthy  of  him  and  to  render  herself  competent  to 
assist  him  in  those  investigations  that  have  given  him  such 
imperishable  renown.  With  this  end  in  view,  she  learned 
Latin  and  English,  and  she  thus  became  an  accomplished 
translator  from  these  languages  of  any  chemical  works 
which  might  aid  her  spouse  in  his  epoch-making  researches. 
It  was  she  who  translated  for  him  the  chemical  memoirs  oJ 
Cavendish,  Henry,  Kirwan,  Priestly  and  other  noted  Eng- 
lish scientific  investigators. 

Arthur  Young,  well  known  in  his  day  as  a  traveler  and 
author,  who  in  1787  made  the  acquaintance  of  Madame 
Lavoisier,  describes  her  as  a  woman  full  of  animation, 
good  sense  and  knowledge.  In  referring  to  a  breakfast 
she  had  given  him,  he  declares  that  "unquestionably  th< 
best  part  of  the  repast  was  her  conversation  on  Kirwan  | 
Essay  on  Phlogiston,  which  she  was  then  translating,  anc 
on  other  subjects  which  a  woman  of  sense,  working  in  th( 
laboratory  of  her  husband,  knows  so  well  how  to  make 
interesting.' ' 

She  was  an  ardent  co-worker  with  her  husband  in  his 

214 


WOMEN    IN    CHEMISTRY  215 

laboratory  and  materially  aided  him  in  his  labors.  Under 
his  direction  she  wrote  the  results  of  the  experiments  that 
were  made,  as  is  evidenced  by  the  records  of  his  work. 
As  a  pupil  of  the  illustrious  painter,  David,  she  was  natu- 
rally skillful  in  drawing.  Besides  this,  she  was  a  good 
engraver,  and  it  is  to  her  that  are  due  the  illustrations  in 
Lavoisier's  great  Trait e  de  Chimie,  which  contributed  so 
much  toward  revolutionizing  the  science  of  chemistry.  It 
was,  indeed,  the  first  work  that  deserved  to  be  regarded  as 
a  textbook  of  modern  chemistry.  Among  her  drawings  are 
two  of  special  interest.  They  represent  her  as  seated  at 
a  table  in  the  laboratory,  taking  notes,  while  her  husband 
and  his  assistant,  Seguin,  are  making  an  experiment  on  the 
phenomena  of  respiration.1 

All  Mme.  Lavoisier's  writings  testify  to  her  great  admi- 
ration of  the  genius  of  her  husband.  Intimately  associated 
with  him  in  his  work,  she  combatted  for  the  triumph  of  his 
ideas  and  sought  to  make  converts  to  them.  One  of  her 
most  notable  converts  was  the  Swiss  chemist,  de  Saussure. 
"You  have,  Madame,"  he  writes  her,  "triumphed  over  my 
doubts,  at  least  in  the  matter  of  phlogiston,  which  is  the 
principal  object  of  the  interesting  work  of  which  you  have 
done  me  the  honor  of  sending  me  a  copy. ' ' 

After  Lavoisier 's  tragic  death  on  the  guillotine,  it  was  his 
devoted  wife  who  edited  his  Memoirs  on  Chemistry,  of 
which  Lavoisier  had  himself  projected  the  publication.  The 
two  volumes  constituting  this  work  were  not  for  sale,  but 
were  gratuitously  distributed  by  the  bereaved  widow 
among  the  most  eminent  scientific  men  of  the  epoch.  Cuv- 
ier,  in  acknowledging  the  receipt  of  these  precious  memoirs, 
declares:  "All  the  friends  of  science  are  under  obligations 
to  you  for  your  sorrowful  determination  to  publish  this 
collection  of  papers  and  to  publish  them  as  they  were  writ- 

1  Lavoisier  1743-1794,  d'apres  sa  Correspondence,  Ses  Manuscrits, 
Ses  Papiers  de  Famille  et  d'Autres  Pocuments  Inedits,  p.  42  et  seq., 
par  E.  Grimaux,  Paris,  1896. 


216  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

ten — a  melancholy  monument  of  your  loss  and  theirs — a 
loss  which  humanity  will  feel  for  centuries." 

To  realize  the  importance  of  the  work  in  which  Mme. 
Lavoisier  participated,  it  suffices  to  recall  the  fact  that 
her  husband,  as  one  of  the  creators  of  modern  chemistry, 
was  the  first  to  demonstrate  the  existence  of  the  law  of 
the  conservation  of  matter,  which  declares  that  in  all 
chemical  changes  nothing  is  lost  and  nothing  is  created. 
The  co-discoverer  with  Scheele  and  Priestly  of  oxygen,  he 
was  the  first  one  to  exhibit  the  role  of  this  important  ele- 
ment in  the  phenomena  of  combustion  and  respiration  and 
the  first,  also,  to  lay  the  foundations  of  a  chemical  nomen- 
clature. We  are  not,  then,  surprised  to  learn  that  Mme. 
Lavoisier's  salon,  even  long  after  her  lamented  husband's 
death,  was  frequented  by  the  most  eminent  savants  of  the 
time.  For  here  were  gathered  such  scientific  luminaries  as 
Cuvier,  Laplace,  Arago,  Lagrange,  Prony,  Berthollet, 
Delambre,  Biot,  Humboldt,  and  others  scarcely  less  bril- 
liant. 

After  the  conclusion  of  Mme.  Lavoisier's  work  in  the 
laboratory  of  her  husband,  little  was  accomplished  by 
women  in  chemistry  for  more  than  half  a  century.  The 
reason  was  simple.  Chemistry  was  not  a  part  of  the  cur- 
riculum of  studies  for  girls  either  in  Europe  or  America. 
Even  "during  the  sixties,"  writes  a  teacher  of  one  of  the 
prominent  female  seminaries  of  the  United  States,  "the 
study  of  chemistry  was  mostly  confined  to  the  textbook, 
supplemented  once  a  year  by  a  course  of  lectures  from  an 
itinerant  expert,  who  with  his  tanks  of  various  gases  pro- 
duced highly  spectacular  effects." 

When  one  recollects  that  the  first  institution  in  America 
— Vassar — for  the  higher  education  of  women  was  not 
opened  until  1865,  one  will  understand  that  there  were 
previously  to  this  date  few  opportunities  for  women  to 
study  either  chemistry  or  any  of  the  other  sciences. 

The  first  scientific  institution  to  open  its  doors  to  women 


WOMEN    IN    CHEMISTRY  217 

was  the  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology.  This  was 
on  May  11,  1876,  when  the  governing  board  of  the  institute 
decided  that  "  hereafter  special  students  in  chemistry  shall 
be  admitted  without  regard  to  sex."  In  less  than  a  year 
after  this  event  every  department  of  this  institution  was 
open  to  women,  and  any  one  who  could  pass  the  requisite 
examination  was  admitted  as  a  student. 

Five  years,  however,  before  women  were  formally  ad- 
mitted to  the  courses  of  chemistry  an  energetic  young  grad- 
uate from  Vassar,  eager  to  devote  her  life  to  the  pursuit  of 
science,  had,  as  an  exceptional  favor,  been  allowed  to  enter 
the  Institute  as  a  special  student  in  chemistry.  As  she 
was  the  first  woman  in  the  United  States  to  enter  a  strictly 
professional  scientific  school,  her  entrance  marks  the  begin- 
ning of  a  new  epoch  in  the  history  of  female  education. 
The  name  of  this  ardent  votary  of  science  was  Miss  Ellen 
Swallow,  better  known  to  the  world  as  Mrs.  Ellen  H. 
Richards. 

Mrs.  Richards  had  not  devoted  herself  long  to  the  study 
of  her  favorite  science  before  she  resolved  to  apply  the 
knowledge  thus  gained  to  the  problems  of  daily  life.  She 
saw,  among  other  things,  the  necessity  of  a  complete  re- 
form in  domestic  economy,  and  resolutely  set  to  work  to 
have  her  views  adopted  and  put  in  practice.  She  was,  in 
consequence,  one  of  the  first  leaders  of  the  crusade  in 
behalf  of  pure  food,  and  her  lectures  and  books  on  this 
all-important  subject  contributed  greatly  toward  the  dif- 
fusion of  exact  knowledge  respecting  the  dangers  lurking 
in  unwholesome  food. 

She  was  likewise  one  of  the  first  to  apply  the  science  of 
chemistry  to  an  exhaustive  study  of  the  science  of  nutri- 
tion— to  the  study  of  food  and  the  proper  preparation  of 
food  materials.  In  this  she  was  eminently  successful,  and 
was  able  to  achieve  for  home  economics  what  the  illustrious 
Liebig  had  many  years  before  accomplished  for  agricul- 
tural chemistry — put  it  on  a  firm  and  lasting  basis.     To 


218  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

her  the  kitchen  was  the  center  and  source  of  political 
economy. 

The  facts  of  science,  indeed,  were  to  Mrs.  Richards  more 
than  mere  uncorrected  facts.  They  are  potential  agencies 
of  service,  and  their  chief  value  consists  in  their  enabling 
us  to  control  our  environment  in  such  wise  as  to  secure  the 
maximum  of  physical  well  being.  Hence  her  constant  in- 
sistence on  personal  cleanliness,  on  the  cleanliness  of  food, 
of  the  house  we  live  in,  and,  above  all,  of  the  kitchen. 
Hence,  also,  her  preaching,  in  season  and  out  of  season,  on 
the  necessity  of  pure  air,  pure  water  and  abundance  of 
vitalizing  sunshine. 

We  cannot,  then,  wonder  that  sanitary  chemistry  eventu- 
ally became  the  life  work  of  Mrs.  Richards,  and  that,  when 
the  course  of  sanitary  engineering  was  inaugurated  in  the 
Institute  of  Technology — the  first  course  of  its  kind  in  the 
world — she  became  an  important  agent  in  its  development 
and  contributed  immensely  to  its  popularity  and  prestige. 

She  held  the  position  of  instructor  of  sanitary  chemistry 
in  the  institute  for  twenty-seven  years.  During  this  time 
she  trained  a  large  number  of  young  men  in  her  chosen 
specialty,  and  these,  after  graduating,  engaged  in  similar 
work  in  various  parts  of  the  New  and  the  Old  World. 

The  branch  of  sanitary  chemistry  to  which  Mrs.  Richards 
devoted  most  attention  was  air,  water  and  sewage  analysis. 
In  this  she  was  a  recognized  expert,  and  her  advice  and 
services  were  sought  in  all  parts  of  the  country.  During 
the  last  three  years  of  her  life  she  acted,  according  to  her 
own  testimony,  as  general  sanitary  adviser  to  no  fewer 
than  two  score  corporations  and  schools.  In  addition  to 
this  she  was  also  during  this  brief  period  consulted  on  the 
subject  of  foods  by  nearly  two  hundred  educational  and 
other  institutions. 

What,  however,  constituted  the  greatest  contribution  of 
Mrs.  Richards  to  the  public  health  was  the  part  she  took 
in  the  great  sanitary  survey  of  the  waters  of  the  State  of 


WOMEN    IN    CHEMISTRY  219 

Massachusetts.  During  this  long  and  laborious  investiga- 
tion she  analyzed  more  than  forty  thousand  samples  of 
water.  These  analyses  exhibited  the  condition  of  the  water 
from  all  parts  of  the  state  during  all  seasons  of  the  year 
and  were  of  the  greatest  value  in  solving  a  number  of 
important  problems  in  state  sanitation. 

But  notwithstanding  the  drafts  made  on  her  time  and 
energy  by  her  classwork  in  the  laboratory  and  her  occupa- 
tion as  sanitary  engineer  for  scores  of  public  and  private 
institutions,  she  still  found  leisure  to  engage  in  many  im- 
portant movements  which  had  in  view  the  public  health 
and  the  betterment  of  sanitary  conditions  in  city  and  coun- 
try. It  is  safe  to  say  that  no  one  ever  put  her  knowledge  \ 
of  chemical  science  to  more  practical  use  or  made  it  more 
perfectly  subserve  the  public  weal  than  did  Mrs.  Richards. 
To  spread  among  the  masses  a  knowledge  of  the  principles 
of  sanitation,  to  make  them  realize  how  indispensable  to 
health  are  pure  food,  pure  water,  pure  air  and  life-giving 
sunshine  was  her  great  mission  in  life,  and  in  this  she  dis- 
played an  energy  and  a  tireless  zeal  which  were  an  inspira- 
tion to  all  with  whom  she  came  into  contact. 

This  indefatigable  woman,  it  is  proper  to  record  here, 
might  have  distinguished  herself  as  a  discoverer  in  chemi- 
cal science  had  she  elected  to  devote  her  life  to  original 
research  rather  than  to  utilizing  the  knowledge  already 
available  for  the  welfare  of  her  fellows.  Thus,  after  a 
careful  analysis  of  the  rare  mineral  samarskite,  she  found 
an  insoluble  residue  which  led  her  to  believe  might  contain 
unknown  elements.  This  view  she  repeatedly  expressed  to 
her  co-workers  in  the  laboratory.  But  she  was  unwilling 
to  take  from  what  she  regarded  more  important  work  the 
time  necessary  for  making  investigations  which  might  have 
given  her  undying  fame  as  a  discoverer.  For  not  long 
afterward  this  insoluble  residue,  in  the  hands  of  two 
French  chemists,  yielded  the  exceedingly  rare  elements, 
samarium  and  gadolinium. 


220  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

Another  chemist  of  a  less  altruistic  nature  than  Mrs. 
Eichards  would  not  have  resisted  the  temptation  to  achieve 
distinction  in  the  domain  of  original  research.  But  where 
there  was  so  much  suffering  to  be  relieved  and  so  much 
ignorance  to  be  removed  regarding  the  most  fundamental 
principles  of  sanitation,  this  philanthropic  woman  pre- 
ferred to  put  to  practical  use  what  she  called  "the  con- 
siderable body  of  useful  knowledge  now  lying  on  our 
shelves. ' ' 

Her  duty,  as  she  conceived  it,  is  well  indicated  in  the 
following  paragraph,  taken  from  a  thoughtful  discussion 
by  her  of  the  subject  of  home  economics  a  short  time  before 
her  death  in  1911.  "The  sanitary  research  worker  in 
laboratory  and  field, ' '  she  declares, ' '  has  gone  nearly  to  the 
limit  of  his  value.  He  will  soon  be  smothered  in  his  own 
work,  if  no  one  takes  it.  Meanwhile  children  die  by  the 
thousands;  contagious  diseases  take  toll  of  hundreds;  back 
alleys  remain  foul  and  the  streets  are  unswept;  school- 
houses  are  unwashed  and  danger  lurks  in  the  drinking 
cups  and  about  the  towels.  Dust  is  stirred  up  each  morn- 
ing with  the  feather  duster  to  greet  the  warm,  moist  noses 
and  throats  of  the  children.  To  the  watchful  expert  it 
seems  like  the  old  cities  dancing  and  making  merry  on  the 
eve  of  a  volcanic  outbreak. ' * 

From  the  day  in  1873  when  Mrs.  Richards  received  from 
the  Institute  of  Technology  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Sci- 
ence— a  degree  which  made  her  not  only  the  first  woman 
graduate  of  this  institution,  but  also  the  first  graduate  in 
the  United  States  of  a  strictly  scientific  seat  of  learning — 
the  number  of  women  who  have  devoted  themselves  to 
chemical  pursuits  is  legion.  They  are  now  found  in  every 
civilized  country  in  both  hemispheres  and  their  number  is 
daily  increasing.  They  are  everywhere  doing  excellent 
work  as  teachers  in  classrooms  and  laboratories  and  hold- 

iThe  Life  of  Ellen  E.  Eichards,  p.  273  et  seq.,  by  Caroline  L. 
Hunt,  Boston,  1912. 


WOMEN    IN    CHEMISTRY  221 

ing  their  own  with  men  as  chemical  experts  in  manufac- 
turing establishments  and  government  institutions.  Many 
of  them  have  done  original  work  of  a  high  order,  and  dis- 
tinguished themselves  by  their  valuable  contributions  to 
contemporary  chemical  literature.  Space,  however,  pre- 
cludes more  than  a  general  reference  to  their  achievements, 
for  the  names  only  of  those  who  have  done  meritorious 
work  in  chemistry  would  make  a  very  long  list. 

Passing  over,  then,  all  the  lesser  feminine  lights  in  chem- 
istry who,  in  various  fields  of  activity,  have  rendered  such 
distinct  service  during  the  past  generation,  we  come  to 
one  who  for  nearly  two  decades  has  stood  in  the  forefront 
of  the  great  chemists  of  the  world.  This  is  that  renowned 
daughter  of  Poland,  Mme.  Marie  Klodowska  Curie,  whose 
name  will  always  be  identified  with  some  of  the  most  re- 
markable discoveries  which  have  ever  been  made  in  the 
long-continued  study  of  the  material  universe. 

Marie  Klodowska  was  born  in  Warsaw,  in  1868.  Her 
father  was  a  professor  of  chemistry  in  the  university  of  the 
former  Polish  capital ;  and  it  is  undoubtedly  from  him  that 
his  brilliantly  dowered  daughter  has  inherited  her  love  of 
chemistry  and  her  extraordinary  genius  for  scientific  re- 
search. Owing  to  the  paltry  salary  he  received,  Professor 
Klodowska  was  obliged  to  make  little  Marie  his  laboratory 
assistant  while  she  was  quite  a  young  girl.  Instead,  then, 
of  playing  with  tops  and  dolls,  her  time  was  occupied  in 
cleaning  evaporating  dishes  and  test  tubes  and  in  assisting 
her  father  to  prepare  for  his  lectures  and  experiments. 
And  it  was  thus  that,  at  an  early  age,  she  acquired  a  taste 
for  that  science  in  which  she  was  subsequently  to  achieve 
such  world-wide  fame. 

While  still  a  young  woman,  her  love  of  science  drew 
her  to  Paris,  where  she  arrived  with  only  fifty  francs  in 
her  purse.  But,  possessed  of  dauntless  courage  and  unfal- 
tering perseverance,  she  was  prepared  to  make  any  sacri- 
fice in  the  pursuit  of  knowledge. 


222  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

Her  first  home  in  the  gay  French  metropolis  was  a 
poorly  furnished  garret  in  an  obscure  part  of  the  city,  and 
her  diet  was  for  so  long  a  time  restricted  to  black  bread 
and  skimmed  milk  that  she  afterward  avowed  that  she  had 
to  cultivate  a  taste  for  wine  and  meat.  And  so  intensely 
cold  was  her  cheerless  room  in  winter  that  the  little  bottle 
of  milk  which  was  daily  left  at  her  door  was  speedily 
congealed.  At  this  time  the  poor  girl  was  living  on  less 
than  ten  cents  a  day,  but  still  cherishing  all  the  while  the 
fond  hope  that  she  might  eventually  secure  a  position  as  a 
student  assistant  in  some  good  chemical  laboratory. 

After  a  long  struggle  with  poverty  and  after  countless 
disappointments  in  quest  of  a  position  where  she  could 
gratify  her  ambition  as  a  student  of  chemistry,  she  finally 
found  occupation  as  a  poorly  paid  assistant  in  the  labora- 
tory conducted  by  Professor  Lipmann.  She  was  not,  how- 
ever, at  work  a  week  before  this  distinguished  investigator 
recognized  in  the  young  woman  one  whose  knowledge  of 
chemistry  and  faculty  for  original  research  were  far  above 
the  average.  She  was  accordingly  transferred  without  de- 
lay from  the  menial  employment  in  which  she  had  been  en- 
gaged and  given  every  possible  facility  for  prosecuting 
work  as  an  original  investigator. 

It  was  shortly  after  this  event  that  Marie  Klodowska  met 
the  noted  savant,  Pierre  Curie.  He  was  not  long  in  dis- 
covering in  her  a  kindred  spirit — one  who,  besides  having 
exceptional  talent  in  experimental  chemistry,  was  actuated 
by  an  ardent  love  of  science.  It  was  then  that  he  deter- 
mined to  make  her  his  wife.  A  single  sentence  in  a  letter 
he  wrote  at  this  time  to  the  object  of  his  admiration  and 
affection  reveals,  better  than  anything  else,  the  devotion 
of  this  matchless  pair  in  the  cause  of  science.  "What  a 
great  thing  it  would  be,"  he  exclaims,  "to  unite  our  lives 
and  work  together  for  the  sake  of  science  and  humanity. ' ' 
These  simple  words  were  the  keynote  to  the  ideal  life  led 
by  this  incomparable  couple  during  the  eleven  years  they 


WOMEN    IN    CHEMISTRY  223 

worked  together  in  perfect  unity  of  thought  and  aspira- 
tion before  the  sudden  and  premature  extinction  of  the 
husband's  life  gave  such  a  shock  to  the  entire  scientific 
world. 

After  her  marriage  the  gifted  young  Polish  woman  had 
reached  the  goal  of  her  ambition.  She  was  able  to  devote 
herself  exclusively  to  what  was  henceforth  to  constitute  her 
life  work  in  one  of  the  best  laboratories  of  Paris,  that  of 
the  Ecole  de  Physique  et  de  Chimie,  and  that,  too,  in  col- 
laboration with  her  husband,  from  whom  she  was  never 
separated  during  the  entire  period  of  their  married  life 
for  even  a  single  day. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  Mme.  Curie  had  her  interest 
aroused  by  the  brilliant  discoveries  of  Rontgen  and  Bec- 
querel  regarding  radiant  matter.  After  a  long  series  of 
carefully  conducted  experiments  on  the  compounds  of 
uranium  and  thorium,  she,  with  the  intuition  of  genius, 
opened  up  to  the  world  of  science  an  entirely  new  field  of 
research.  But  she  soon  realized  that  the  labor  involved  in 
the  investigations  which  she  had  planned  was  entirely  be- 
yond the  capacity  of  any  one  person.  It  was  then  that  she 
succeeded  in  enlisting  her  husband's  interest  in  the  under- 
taking which  was  to  lead  to  such  marvelous  results. 

Confining  their  work  to  a  careful  analytical  study  of  the 
residue  of  the  famous  Bohemian  pitchblend — an  extremely 
complex  mineral,  largely  composed  of  oxide  of  uranium — 
they  soon  found  themselves  confronted  by  most  extraordi- 
nary radioactive  phenomena.  Continuing  their  researches, 
their  labor  was  rewarded  by  the  discovery  of  a  new  element 
which  Mme.  Curie,  in  her  enthusiasm,  named  in  honor  of 
the  land  of  her  birth,  polonium. 

As  their  investigations  progressed,  they  became  corre- 
spondingly difficult.  They  were  dealing  with  substances 
which  exist  in  pitchblend  residue  only  in  infinitesimal  quan- 
tities^— not  more  than  three  troy  grams  to  the  ton.  The 
difficulties  they  had  to  contend  with  were  enough  to  dis- 


224  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

courage  the  stoutest  heart.  Few  believed  in  their  theories, 
while  the  majority  of  those  who  had  some  intimation  of 
the  character  of  their  work  were  persuaded  that  they  were 
pursuing  a  phantom.  But  the  indefatigable  pair  toiled  on 
day  and  night  and  continued  their  experiments  through 
long  years  of  poverty  and  deferred  hopes. 

Considering  the  herculean  task  in  which  they  were  en- 
gaged for  so  many  years,  we  scarcely  know  which  to  ad- 
mire most,  their  clearness  of  vision,  which  made  them  di- 
vine success ;  their  profound  knowledge,  which  guided  them 
in  the  choice  of  reagents;  or  the  indomitable  perseverance 
which  characterized  them  in  their  laborious  task  and  in 
the  countless  sacrifices  which  they  were  obliged  to  make 
before  their  efforts  were  crowned  with  success. 

During  this  long  search  into  the  inner  heart  of  nature, 
Pierre  Curie  was  often  so  discouraged  and  depressed  that, 
had  he  not  been  sustained  by  his  more  sanguine  wife,  he 
would  time  and  again  have  given  up  his  investigations  in 
despair.  But  Marie  Curie  never  faltered.  She  never  lost 
faith  in  their  theories  or  confidence  in  the  outcome  of  their 
great  undertaking.  Before  her  deft  hands  and  fertile  brain 
difficulties  vanished  as  if  under  the  magic  wand  of  Pros- 
pero. 

At  length,  after  countless  experiments  of  the  most  deli- 
cate character,  after  bringing  to  bear  on  the  solution  of  the 
problem  before  them  the  most  refined  methods  of  chemical 
analysis,  they  were  rewarded  by  one  of  the  most  extraordi- 
nary discoveries  recorded  in  the  annals  of  science.  With 
the  announcement  of  the  discovery  of  radium,  the  Curies 
sprang  into  world-wide  fame,  and  the  name  of  the  wonder- 
ful woman  who  had  been  the  prime  mover  in  the  supreme 
achievement  was  on  every  lip.  Pierre  Curie  himself  de- 
clared that  more  than  half  of  the  epochal  discovery  be- 
longed to  his  wife.  It  was  she  who  began  the  work.  It  was 
she  who,  after  her  marriage,  enlisted  in  it  the  cooperation 
of  her  husband.    It  was  she  whose  invincible  patience  and 


WOMEN    IN    CHEMISTRY  225 

persistence — typical  of  the  noblest  representatives  of  her 
race — supported  him  during  periods  of  doubt  and  despon- 
dency and  fanned  his  flagging  spirits  to  new  endeavor.  It 
can  indeed  be  truthfully  asserted  that  had  it  not  been  for 
her  penetrating  intelligence,  her  tenacity  of  purpose  and 
her  keenness  of  vision,  which  were  never  at  fault,  the  great 
victory  which  crowned  their  efforts  would  never  have  been 
achieved.1 

Compare  their  work  with  that  which  was  accomplished 
by  their  illustrious  predecessors,  Antoine  Laurent  Lavoi- 
sier, and  his  wife,  a  century  earlier.  The  latter,  by  their 
discovery  of  and  experiments  with  oxygen,  were  able  to 
explain  the  until  then  mysterious  phenomena  of  combus- 
tion and  respiration  and  to  coordinate  numberless  facts 
which  had  before  stood  isolated  and  enigmatic.  But  the 
reverse  was  the  case  in  the  discovery  of  that  extraordinary 
and  uncanny  element,  radium.  It  completely  subverted 
many  long-established  theories  and  necessitated  an  entirely 
new  view  of  the  nature  of  energy  and  of  the  constitution  of 
matter.  A  substance  that  seemed  capable  of  emitting  light 
and  heat  indefinitely,  with  little  or  no  appreciable  change 
or  transformation,  appeared  to  sap  the  very  foundations  of 
the  fundamental  principle  of  the  conservation  of  energy. 

i  Mme.  Curie,  in  an  article  which  she  wrote  shortly  after  her 
discovery  of  radium,  shows  that  she  possesses  a  genius  for  inductive 
science  of  the  highest  type.  "It  was  at  the  close  of  the  year  1897," 
she  writes,  "that  I  began  to  study  the  compounds  of  uranium,  the 
properties  of  which  had  greatly  attracted  my  interest.  Here  was  a 
substance  emitting  spontaneously  and  continually  radiations  similar 
to  Kontgen  rays,  whereas  ordinarily,  Kontgen  rays  can  be  produced 
only  in  a  vacuum  tube  with  the  expenditure  of  electrical  energy. 
By  what  process  can  uranium  furnish  the  same  rays  without  ex- 
penditure of  energy  and  without  undergoing  apparent  modification? 
Is  uranium  the  only  body  whose  compounds  emit  similar  rays?  Such 
were  the  questions  I  asked  myself;  and  it  was  while  seeking  to 
answer  them  that  I  entered  into  the  researches  which  have  led  to 
the  discovery  of  radium."  Eadium  and  Radio- Activity  in  The  Cen- 
tury Magazine,  for  January*,  1904. 


226  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

Subsequent  investigations  seemed  only  to  render  "con 
fusion  worse  confounded."  They  appeared  to  justify  th< 
dreams  of  the  alchemists  of  old,  not  only  regarding  th( 
transmutation  of  metals  but  also  respecting  the  elixir  oi 
life.  For  was  not  this  apparently  absurd  idea  vindicated 
by  the  observed  curative  properties — bordering  almost  or 
the  miraculous — this  marvelous  element  was  reputed  t< 
possess !  Its  virtues,  it  was  averred,  transcended  the  fabled 
properties  of  the  famous  red  tincture  and  the  philosopher  j 
stone  combined,  and  many  were  prepared  to  find  in  it  i 
panacea  for  the  most  distressing  of  human  ailments,  frort 
lupus  and  rodent  ulcer  to  cancer  and  other  frightful  forms 
of  morbid  degeneration.1 

And  the  end  is  not  yet.  Continued  investigations,  mad* 
in  all  parts  of  the  world  since  the  discovery  of  radium  by 
the  Curies,  have  but  emphasized  its  mysterious  properties 
and  compelled  a  revision  of  many  of  our  most  cherished 
theories  in  chemistry,  physics  and  astronomy.  No  one 
single  discovery,  not  even  Pasteur's  far-reaching  discovery 
of  microbic  life,  it  may  safely  be  asserted,  has  ever  been 
more  subversive  of  long-accepted  views  in  certain  domains 
of  science,  or  given  rise  to  more  perplexing  problems  re- 
garding matters  which  were  previously  thought  to  be  thor- 
oughly understood. 

Never  in  the  entire  history  of  science  have  the  results  oi 
a  woman's  scientific  researches  been  so  stupendous  or  so 
revolutionary.  And  never  has  any  one  achievement  in 
science  reflected  more  glory  on  womankind  than  that  which 
is  so  largely  due  to  the  genius  and  the  perseverance  oi 
Mme.  Curie. 

After  their  startling  discovery,  honors  and  tributes  tc 
their  genius  came  in  rapid  succession  to  the  gifted  couple. 
On  the  recommendation  of  the  venerable  British  savant, 

*  Notice  sur  Pierre  Curie,  p.  20  et  seq.,  by  M.  D.  Gernez,  Paris, 
1907,  and  Le  Badvum,  Son  Origine  et  ses  Transformations,  by  M.  L, 
Houllerigue,  in  La  Bevue  de  Paris,  May  1,  1911. 


WOMEN    IN    CHEMISTRY  227 

Lord  Kelvin,  they  were  awarded  the  Davy  gold  medal  by 
the  Eoyal  Society.  Shortly  after  this  they  shared  with 
M.  H.  Becquerel  in  the  Nobel  prize  for  physics  bestowed 
on  them  by  Sweden.  Then  came  laggard  France  with  its 
decoration  of  the  Legion  of  Honor.  But  it  was  offered 
only  to  the  man.  There  was  nothing  for  the  woman.  Pierre 
Curie  showed  his  spirit  and  chivalry  by  declining  to  accept 
the  proffered  honor  unless  his  wife  could  share  it  with  him. 
His  answer  was  simple,  but  its  meaning  could  not  be  mis- 
taken. ' ' This  decoration/'  he  said,  "has  no  bearing  on  my 
work."1 

Shortly  after  her  husband's  death  Mme.  Curie  was  ap- 
pointed as  his  successor  as  special  lecturer  in  the  Sorbonne. 
This  was  the  first  time  that  this  conservative  old  univer- 
sity ever  invited  a  woman  to  a  full  professorship.  But  she 
soon  showed  that  she  was  thoroughly  competent  to  fill  the 
position  with  honor  and  eclat.  She  has  the  elite  of  society 
and  the  world's  most  noted  men  of  science  among  her  au- 
ditors. The  crowned  heads  of  the  Old  World  eagerly  seek 
an  opportunity  to  witness  her  experiments  and  hear  her 
discourse  on  what  is  by  all  odds  the  most  marvelous  ele- 
ment in  nature. 

Mme.  Curie  has  not  allowed  her  lectures  in  the  Sorbonne 
to  interfere  with  the  continuation  of  the  researches  which 
have  won  for  her  such  world-wide  renown.  Since  the  sud- 
den taking  off  of  her  husband  by  a  passing  truck  on  a 
Paris  bridge,  she  has  succeeded  in  isolating  both  radium 
and  polonium — only  the  chlorides  and  bromides  of  these 
elements  were  previously  known — besides  doing  other  work 
scarcely  less  remarkable.  And  besides  all  this,  she  has  also 
!  y 

i  The  day  following  Pierre  Curie 's  refusal  of  the  decoration 
offered  by  the  Government,  the  elder  of  his  two  daughters,  little 
Irene,  climbed  upon  her  father's  knee  and  put  a  red  geranium  in 
the  lapel  of  his  coat.  "Now,  papa,"  she  gravely  remarked,  "you 
are  decorated  with  the  Legion  of  Honor.' '  "In  this  case,"  the 
fond  father  replied,  "I  make  no  objection." 


228  iWOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

found  time  to  write  a  connected  account  of  her  investiga- 
tions under  the  title  of  Traite  de  Radio- Activite — a  work 
that  reflects  as  much  honor  on  her  sex  as  did  Le  Institu- 
zioni  Analitiche  of  Maria  Gaetana  Agnesi,  which  won  for 
her,  through  that  celebrated  patron  of  learning,  Benedict 
XIV,  the  chair  of  higher  mathematics  in  the  University  of 
Bologna. 

The  list  of  learned  societies  to  which  Mme.  Curie  be- 
longs is  an  extended  one.  To  mention  only  a  few,  she  is  an 
honorary  or  foreign  member  of  the  London  Chemical  So- 
ciety, the  Royal  Institution  of  Great  Britain,  the  Eoyal 
Swedish  Academy,  the  American  Chemical  Society,  the 
American  Philosophical  Society,  and  the  Imperial  Academy 
of  Sciences  of  St.  Petersburg.  From  the  universities  of 
Geneva  and  Edinburgh  she  has  received  the  honorary  de- 
gree of  doctor. 

In  1898  she  received  the  Gegner  prize  from  the  French 
Academy  of  Sciences  for  her  elaborate  researches  on  the 
magnetic  properties  of  iron  and  steel,  as  also  for  her  inves- 
tigations relating  to  radio-activity.  The  same  prize  was 
again  awarded  to  her  in  1900,  and  still  again  in  1903.  With 
her  husband  she  received  in  1901  the  La  Caze  prize  of  ten 
thousand  francs;  and  in  1903  she  received  a  part  of  the 
Osiris  prize  of  sixty  thousand  francs.  Since  her  husband 's 
death  in  1906  Mme.  Curie  has  been  awarded  the  coveted 
Nobel  prize  in  chemistry,  which  was  placed  in  her  hand  by 
the  King  of  Sweden  on  December  11,  1911 — a  prize  which 
increased  the  exchequer  of  the  fair  recipient  by  nearly 
two  hundred  thousand  francs.  Having  before  been  the 
beneficiary  of  the  Nobel  prize  for  physics,  in  conjunction  | 
with  her  husband  and  M.  H.  Becquerel,  Mme.  Curie  is  thus 
the  first  person  to  be  twice  singled  out  for  the  world's 
highest  financial  recognition  of  scientific  research. 

It  would  take  too  long  to  enumerate  all  the  medals  and 
prizes  and  honors  which  have  come  to  this  remarkable 
woman  from  foreign  countries.    But  she  has  doubtless  been 


WOMEN    IN    CHEMISTRY  229 

the  recipient  of  more  trophies  of  undying  fame  during  the 
last  decade  and  a  half  than  any  other  one  person  during 
the  same  brief  period  of  intellectual  activity.  And  all  these 
tokens  of  recognition  of  genius  were  showered  upon  her  not 
because  she  was  a  woman,  but  in  spite  of  this  fact.  Had 
she  been  a  man,  she  would  have  been  honored  with  the 
other  distinctions  which  tradition  and  prejudice  still  per- 
sist in  denying  to  one  of  the  proscribed  sex,  no  matter  how 
great  her  merit  or  how  signal  her  achievements. 

At  a  recent  scientific  congress,  held  in  Brussels,  it  was 
decided  to  prepare  a  standard  of  measurement  of  radium 
emanations.  It  was  the  unanimous  opinion  of  the  congress 
that  Mme.  Curie  was  better  equipped  than  any  other  person 
for  establishing  such  a  standard ;  and  she  was  accordingly 
requested  to  undertake  the  delicate  and  difficult  task — a 
commission  which  she  executed  to  the  satisfaction  of  all 
concerned. 

This  unit  of  measurement,  it  is  gratifying  to  learn,  will 
be  known  as  the  curie — a  word  which  will  enter  the  same 
category  as  the  volt,  the  ohm,  the  ampere,  the  farad,  and  a 
few  others  which  will  perpetuate  the  names  of  the  world's 
greatest  geniuses  in  the  domain  of  experimental  science. 

When,  not  long  since,  there  was  a  vacancy  among  the  im- 
mortals of  the  French  Academy,  there  was  a  generally  ex- 
pressed desire  that  it  should  be  filled  by  one  who  was  uni- 
versally recognized  as  among  the  foremost  of  living  scien- 
tists. The  name  of  Mme.  Curie  trembled  on  every  lip ;  and 
the  hope  was  entertained  that  the  Academy  would  honor 
itself  by  admitting  the  world-famed  savante  among  its 
members.  Considering  her  achievements,  she  had  no  com- 
petitor, and  was,  in  the  estimation  of  all  outside  of  the 
Academy,  the  one  person  in  France  who  was  most  deserv- 
ing of  the  coveted  honor. 

But  no.  She  was  a  woman ;  and  for  that  reason  alone  she 
was  excluded  from  an  institution  the  sole  object  of  whose 
establishment  was  the  reward  of  merit  and  the  advance- 


280  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

ment  of  learning.  The  age-old  prejudice  against  women 
who  devote  themselves  to  the  study  of  science,  or  who  con- 
tribute to  the  progress  of  knowledge,  was  still  as  dominant 
as  it  was  in  the  days  of  Maria  Gaetana  Agnesi,  a  century 
and  a  half  before.  Mme.  Curie,  like  her  famous  sister  in 
Italy,  might  win  the  plaudits  of  the  world  for  her  achieve- 
ments; but  she  could  have  no  recognition  from  the  one  in- 
stitution, above  all  others,  that  was  specially  founded  to 
foster  the  development  of  science  and  literature,  and  to 
crown  the  efforts  of  those  who  had  proven  themselves 
worthy  of  the  Academy's  highest  honor.  The  attitude  of 
the  French  institution  toward  Mme.  Curie  was  exactly  like 
that  of  the  Royal  Society  of  Great  Britain  when  Mrs.  Ayr- 
ton 's  name  was  up  for  membership.  The  answer  to  both 
applicants  was  in  effect,  if  not  in  words,  ' '  No  woman  need 
apply.' ' 

When  one  reads  of  the  sad  experiences  of  Mme.  Curie 
and  Mrs.  Ayrton  with  the  learned  societies  of  Paris  and 
London,  one  instinctively  asks,  "When  will  the  day  come 
when  women,  in  every  part  of  the  civilized  world,  shall 
enjoy  all  the  rights  and  privileges  in  every  field  of  intel- 
lectual effort  which  have  so  long  been  theirs  in  the  favored 
land  of  Dante  and  Beatrice — the  motherland  of  learned 
societies  and  universities?"  For  not  until  the  advent  of 
the  day  when  such  exclusive  organizations  as  the  Eoyal  So- 
ciety and  the  French  Academy  of  Sciences,  such  ultra-con- 
servative universities  as  Oxford  and  Cambridge  shall  admit 
women  on  the  same  footing  as  men,  will  these  institutions 
be  more  than  half  serving  the  best  interests  of  humanity.1 

Women,  it  is  true,  are  now  eligible  to  many  literary  and 
scientific  associations  from  which  they  were  formerly  de- 

*A  few  days  before  Mme.  Curie's  name  was  to  come  before  the 
Academy  of  Sciences  as  a  candidate  for  membership,  the  French 
Institute  in  its  quarterly  plenary  meeting  of  the  five  academies,  of 
which  the  Institute  is  composed,  decided  by  a  vote  of  ninety  to 
fifty-two  against  the  eligibility  of  women  to   membership,  and  put 


WOMEN    IN    CHEMISTRY  231 

barred,  and  are,  in  most  countries,  admitted  to  colleges 
and  universities  whose  portals  were  closed  to  them  until 
only  a  few  years  ago ;  but  until  they  shall  be  welcomed  to 
all  universities  and  all  societies  whose  objects  are  the  ad- 

itself  on  record  in  favor  of  the  "immutable  tradition  against  the 
election  of  women,  which  it  seemed  eminently  wise  to  respect." 

Commenting  on  this  decision  of  The  Immortals,  a  writer  in  the 
well-known  English  magazine,  Nature,  under  date  of  January  12, 
1911,  penned  the  following  pertinent  paragraph: 

"It  remains  to  be  seen  what  the  Academy  of  Sciences  will  do 
in  the  face  of  such  an  expression  of  opinion.  Mme.  Curie  is  de- 
servedly popular  in  French  scientific  circles.  It  is  everywhere  rec- 
ognized that  her  work  is  of  transcendent  merit,  and  that  it  has 
contributed  enormously  to  the  prestige  of  France  as  a  home  of  ex- 
perimental inquiry.  Indeed,  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the  dis- 
covery and  isolation  of  the  radio-active  elements  are  among  the 
most  striking  and  fruitful  results  of  a  field  of  investigation  pre- 
eminently French.  If  any  prophet  is  to  have  honour  in  his  own 
country — even  if  the  country  be  only  the  land  of  his  adoption — 
surely,  that  honour  ought  to  belong  to  Mme.  Curie.  At  this  moment, 
Mme.  Curie  is  without  doubt,  in  the  eyes  of  the  world,  the  dominant 
figure  in  French  chemistry.  There  is  no  question  that  any  man 
who  had  contributed  to  the  sum  of  human  knowledge  what  she  has 
made  known,  would  years  ago  have  gained  that  recognition  at  the 
hands  of  his  colleagues,  which  Mme.  Curie's  friends  are  now  de- 
sirous of  securing  for  her.  It  is  incomprehensible,  therefore,  on  any 
ethical  principles  of  right  and  justice  that,  because  she  happens  to  be 
a  woman,  she  should  be  denied  the  laurels  which  her  pre-eminent 
scientific  achievement  has  earned  for  her.  * ' 

Compare  this  frank  and  honest  statement  with  that  of  a  con- 
tributor, about  the  same  date,  to  La  Bevtie  du  Monde,  of  Paris. 
Guided  by  his  myopic  vision  and  diseased  imagination,  this  writer 
discerns  in  the  admittance  of  women  into  the  grand  old  institution 
of  Eichelieu  and  Napoleon  the  imminent  triumph  of  what  Prudhon 
called  pornocracy  and  the  eventual  opening  of  the  portals  of  the 
Palais  Mazarin  to  representatives  of  the  type  of  Lais  and  Phryne, 
on  the  Hellenic  pretext  that  "Beauty  is  the  supreme  merit.' ' 

It  is  gratifying,  however,  to  the  friends  of  woman's  cause  to 
learn  that  Mme.  Curie's  candidacy  was  defeated  by  only  two  votes. 
Her  competitor,  M.  Branly,  received  thirty  votes  against  the  Polish 
woman's  twenty-eight.  She  thus  fared  far  better  than  did  Mme. 
Pauline  Savari,  who   aspired  to  the   fauteuil  made  vacant   by  the 


232  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

vancement  of  knowledge,  until  they  shall  participate  in  the 
advantages  and  prestige  accruing  from  connection  with 
these  organizations,  they  will  have  reason  to  feel  that  they 
are  not  yet  in  the  full  possession  of  the  intellectual  advan- 
tages for  which  they  have  so  long  yearned — that  they  have 
been  but  partially  liberated  from  that  educational  disquali- 
fication in  which  they  have  been  held  during  so  many  long 
centuries  of  deferred  hopes  and  fruitless  struggles. 

death  of  Kenan,  regarding  whose  candidature  the  Academy  curtly 
declared,  ' '  Considering  that  its  traditions  do  not  permit  it  to  examine 
this  question,  the  Academy  passes  to  the  order  of  the  day."  Thus, 
it  will  be  seen  that,  in  spite  of  the  long-continued  opposition  to 
women  members,  the  French  Academy  is  more  than  likely  to  offer 
its  next  vacant  chair  to  the  pride  and  glory  of  Poland, — the  im- 
mortal discoverer  of  radium  and  polonium. 


CHAPTER   VII 
WOMEN   IN   THE    NATUKAL    SCIENCES 

It  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  women,  who  are  such 
lovers  of  nature,  have  always  had  a  greater  or  less  interest 
in  the  natural  sciences,  especially  in  botany  and  zoology; 
but  the  fact  remains  that  the  first  one  of  their  sex  to  write 
at  any  length  on  the  various  kingdoms  of  nature  was  that 
extraordinary  nun  of  the  Middle  Ages,  St.  Hildegard,  the 
learned  abbess  of  the  Benedictine  convent  of  St.  Rupert,  at 
Bingen  on  the  Rhine.  Of  an  exceptionally  versatile  and 
inquiring  mind,  her  range  of  study  and  acquirement  was 
truly  encyclopaedic.  In  this  respect  she  was  the  worthy 
forerunner  of  Albert  the  Great,  the  famous  Doctor  Univer- 
salis of  Scholasticism. 

Although  St.  Hildegard  has  much  to  say  about  nature  in 
several  of  her  works,  the  one  of  chiefest  interest  to  us  as 
an  exposition  of  the  natural  history  of  her  time  is  her 
treatise  entitled  Liber  Subtilitatum  Diver sarum  Naturarum 
Creaturarum.  It  is  usually  known  by  its  more  abbreviated 
name,  Physica,  and,  considering  the  circumstances  under 
which  it  was  written,  is,  in  many  ways,  a  most  remarkable 
production.  It  consists  of  nine  books  treating  of  minerals, 
plants,  fishes,  birds,  insects  and  quadrupeds.  The  book  on 
plants  is  composed  of  no  fewer  than  two  hundred  and 
thirty  chapters,  while  that  on  birds  contains  seventy-two 
chapters. 

In  reading  Hildegard 's  descriptions  of  animated  nature 
we  are  often  reminded  of  Pliny's  great  work  on  natural 
history ;  but,  so  far  as  known,  there  is  no  positive  evidence 

233 


234  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 


. 


that  the  learned  religieuse  had  any  acquaintance  whatever 
with  the  writings  of  the  old  Roman  naturalist.  Had  she 
had,  the  general  tenor  of  her  work  would  have  been  quite 
different  from  what  it  actually  is. 

The  mystery,  then,  is,  what  were  the  sources  of  Physicat 
Some  have  fancied  that  Hildegard  in  preparing  this  made 
use  of  the  writings  not  only  of  Pliny  and  Virgil,  but  also 
of  those  of  Macer,  Constantinus  Africanus,  Walafrid 
Strabo,  Isodore  of  Seville,  and  other  writers  who  were  in 
great  vogue  during  the  Middle  Ages.  The  general  con- 
sensus of  opinion,  however,  of  those  who  have  carefully 
studied  this  interesting  problem  is  that  the  gentle  nun  was 
not  acquainted  with  any  of  the  authors  named,  except, 
possibly,  Isodore  of  Seville,  whose  works  were  all  held  in 
high  esteem,  especially  during  the  period  of  Hildegard 's 
greatest  literary  activity. 

Hildegard 's  Physica  has  a  special  value  for  philologists, 
as  well  as  for  students  of  natural  history,  for  it  contains 
the  German  names  of  plants  still  used  by  the  people  of  the 
Fatherland  seven  hundred  years  after  they  were  penned  by 
the  painstaking  abbess  of  St.  Rupert's.1 

Referring  to  the  Saint's  work  entitled  Be  Natura  Ho- 
minis,  Elementorum,  Diversarumque  Creaturarum — a  trea- 
tise on  the  nature  of  man,  the  elements  and  divers  created 
things — no  less  an  authority  than  Dr.  Charles  Daremberg 
iln  his  erudite  work,  Geschichte  der  BotaniJc,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  517, 
Koenigsberg,  1856,  Ernest  H.  F.  Meyer  gives  in  a  few  words  his 
estimate  of  the  excellence  of  Hildegard 's  Physica:  "Aber  als  ehr- 
wiirdiges  Denkmal  des  Alterthums  und  einer  zu  jener  Zeit  nicht 
gemeinen  Naturkentniss  empfehlen  sich  zumal  deutschen  Natur- 
f  orschern  ihre  vier  Biicher  der  Physica  .  .  .  Denn  nicht  nur  der 
deutsche  Botaniker  und  Zoologe  finden  in  ihrer  Physik  fast  die 
ersten  rohen  Anfange  vaterlandische  Naturforshung,  auch  dem  Artzt 
bietet  sie  fiir  jene  Zeit  iiberraschende  Erscheinung  dar,  eine  nicht 
von  Dioskorides  abgeleitete,  sondern  unverkennbar  aus  der  Volksuber- 
lieferung  geschopfte  Heilmittellehre ;  und  der  Sprachforscher  stosst 
im  lateinischen  Text  beinahe  Zeile  um  Zeile  auf  deutsche  Ausdriicke 
seltener  Sprachf  ormen, ' ; 


WOMEN    IN    THE    NATURAL    SCIENCES'  235 

declares  that  it  will  always  hold  an  important  place  in  the 
history  of  medical  art  and  of  inanimate  and  animate  nature 
— insignis  semper  locus  debetitur  in  artis  medicce  rerumque 
naturalium  historia.1 

He  even  goes  further  and  affirms  that  Hildegard  was 
familiar  with  numerous  facts  of  science  regarding  which 
other  mediaeval  writers  were  entirely  ignorant.  More  than 
this.  She  was  acquainted  with  many  of  nature's  secrets 
which  were  unknown  to  men  of  science  until  recent  times, 
and  which,  on  being  disclosed  by  modern  researches,  have 
been  proclaimed  to  the  world  as  new  discoveries.2 

One  reason  why  St.  Hildegard 's  writings  on  botany,  zo- 
ology and  mineralogy  are  not  better  known  is  that  few  stu- 
dents care  to  make  the  effort  to  master  her  voluminous 
works.  They  require  long  and  assiduous  study  and  a 
knowledge  of  her  peculiarities  of  style  and  expression 
which  is  acquired  only  after  patient  and  persistent  labor. 
But  the  labor  is  not  in  vain,  as  is  evidenced  by  the  numer- 
ous monographs  which  have  appeared  in  recent  years,  es- 
pecially in  Germany,  on  the  scientific  works  of  this  mar- 
velous nun  of  the  twelfth  century.  All  things  considered, 
the  Abbess  of  Bingen  may  be  said  to  hold  the  same  posi- 
tion in  the  natural  sciences  of  her  time  as  was  held  in  the 
physical  and  mathematical  sciences  seven  hundred  years 
earlier  by  the  illustrious  Hypatia  of  Alexandria. 

After  the  death  of  St.  Hildegard,  full  six  centuries 
elapsed  before  any  one  of  her  sex  again  achieved  distinc- 
tion in  the  domain  of  natural  science.    And  then,  strange 

i  Hildegardis  Opera  Omnia,  p.  1122,  Migne  's  Edition,  Paris,  1882. 

2  "Constat  permulta  S.  Hildegardi  nota  jam  fuisse,  quae  caeteri 
medii  sevi  scriptores  nescierunt,  quaeque  sagaces  demum  reeentiorum 
temporum  indagatores  reperierunt  ae  tamquam  nova  ventitarunt. ' ' 
Ibid.  Dr.  Karl  Jessen,  in  his  thoughtful  Botanih  der  Gegenwart  und 
Vorzeit  in  Culturhistorischer  EntwicTcelung ,  p.  123,  Leipzig,  1864, 
expresses  himself  on  the  extraordinary  medical  knowledge  of  the 
abbess  of  Bingen  as  follows:  "Wer  deutsche  Volkarznei  studieren 
will,  der  studiere  Hildegard  und  er  wird  Eespect  davor  bekommen." 


236  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

to  relate,  the  first  woman  who  won  fame  by  her  knowledge 
of  science  and  by  her  contributions  to  it,  did  so  in  the  field 
where  a  woman  would,  one  would  think,  be  least  disposed 
to  exercise  her  talent  and  least  likely  to  find  congenial 
work.  It  was  in  the  then  comparatively  new  science  of] 
human  anatomy — a  science  which  had  been  inaugurated  in 
the  famous  medical  schools  of  Salerno  and  which  was  sub- 
sequently so  highly  developed  in  the  great  University  of 
Bologna. 

The  name  of  this  remarkable  woman  was  Anna  Morandi 
Manzolini.  She  was  born  in  1716  in  Bologna,  where,  after 
a  brilliant  career  in  her  favorite  branch  of  science,  she  died 
at  the  age  of  fifty-eight.  She  held  the  chair  of  anatomy  in 
the  University  of  Bologna  for  many  years,  and  is  noted  for 
a  number  of  important  discoveries  made  as  the  result  of 
her  dissections  of  cadavers. 

But  she  won  a  still  greater  title  to  fame  by  the  marvelous 
skill  which  she  exhibited  in  making  anatomical  models  out] 
of  indurated  wax.  They  were  so  carefully  fashioned  that 
some  of  them  could  scarcely  be  distinguished  from  the  parts 
of  the  body  from  which  they  were  modeled.  As  aids  in  the  | 
study  of  anatomy  they  were  most  highly  valued  and  eagerly 
sought  for  on  all  sides.  The  collection  which  she  made  for 
her  own  use  was,  after  her  death,  acquired  by  the  Medical 
Institute  of  Bologna  and  prized  as  one  of  its  most  precious 
possessions. 

Three  years  after  her  demise,  Luigi  Galvani,  professor 
of  anatomy  in  the  same  university  in  which  Anna  had 
achieved  such  fame,  made  use  of  these  wax  models  for  a 
course  of  lectures  on  the  organs  and  structure  of  the  hu- 
man body. 

These  famous  models,  first  perfected  by  Anna  Manzolini, 
were  the  archetypes  of  the  exquisite  wax  models  of  Vas- 
sourie  as  well  as  of  the  unrivaled  papier-mache  creations 
of  Dr.  Auzoux  and  of  all  similar  productions  now  so  ex- 
tensively used  in  our  schools  and  colleges. 


WOMEN    IN    THE    NATURAL    SCIENCES    237 

Even  during  the  lifetime  of  the  gifted  modeler  there 
were  demands  for  specimens  of  her  work  from  all  parts  of 
Italy.  From  many  cities  in  Europe,  even  from  London  and 
St.  Petersburg,  she  received  the  most  nattering  offers  for 
her  services.  So  eager  was  Milan  to  have  her  accept  a 
position  which  had  been  offered  her  that  the  city  authori- 
ties sent  her  a  blank  contract  and  begged  her  to  name  her 
own  conditions.  But  she  could  never  be  induced  to  leave 
the  home  of  her  childhood  and  the  city  which  had  witnessed 
and  applauded  her  triumphs  of  maturer  years. 

Men  of  learning  and  eminence,  on  passing  through  Bo- 
logna, invariably  made  it  a  point  to  call  on  the  learned 
professora  in  order  to  make  her  acquaintance  and  to  see 
her  wonderful  anatomical  collection,  which  was  celebrated 
throughout  Europe  as  Supellex  Manzoliniana.  Among  these 
visitors  was  Joseph  II  of  Austria.  So  greatly  was  His 
Majesty  impressed  by  Anna's  rare  intellectual  attainments 
and  by  her  marvelous  skill  in  reproducing  the  various  parts 
of  the  "human  form  divine"  that  he  could  not  take  leave 
of  her  without  showing  his  appreciation  of  them  by  loading 
her  with  gifts  worthy  of  a  sovereign.1 

i  Compendia  Storico  delta  Scuola  Anatomica  di  Bologna,  p.  358, 
by  Miehele  Medici,  Bologna,  1857,  and  Notizie  degli  Scrittori  Bo- 
lognesi,  Tom.  VI,  p.  113,  by  Giovanni  Fantuzzi,  Bologna,  1788. 

Certain  writers  tell  us  of  another  woman  who  distinguished  her- 
self in  anatomy  in  the  early  part  of  the  fourteenth  century.  Her 
name  was  Alessandra  Giliani,  who  is  said  to  have  been  a  pupil  and 
an  assistant  of  the  celebrated  Mondino,  father  of  modern  anatomy. 
In  addition  to  possessing  great  skill  in  dissection,  she  is  reputed  to 
have  devised  a  means  of  drawing  the  blood  from  the  veins  and  ar- 
teries— even  the  most  minute — and  then  filling  them  with  variously 
colored  liquids  which  quickly  solidified.  By  this  means,  we  are  told, 
she  was  able  to  exhibit  the  circulatory  system  in  all  its  details  and 
complexity,  and  to  have  always  on  hand,  for  purposes  of  instruction, 
a  model  that  was  absolutely  true  to  nature. 

How  much  truth  there  may  be  in  these  statements  regarding  a 
young  girl,  who  was  only  nineteen  when  she  died,  is  difficult  to  de- 
termine.    Medici,  in  concluding  his  account   of  her  and  referring 


238  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

A  contemporary  of  Anna  Manzolini,  who  also  distin- 
guished herself  in  the  preparation  of  anatomical  models, 
was  the  French  woman,  Mile.  Biheron.  Her  facsimiles  of 
parts  of  the  human  body  were*,  according  to  Mme.  de  Gen- 
lis,  so  true  to  nature  that  they  could  not  be  distinguished 
from  the  originals.  This  led  the  facetious  Chevalier  Ringle, 
after  examining  a  specimen  of  her  handiwork,  to  declare, 
"Verily,  it  is  so  perfect  that  it  lacks  only  the  odor  of  the 
natural  object. . 

While  yet  prince  royal,  Gustavus  of  Sweden  visited  the 
French  Academy  of  Sciences  in  Paris.  Here  he  was  enter- 
tained by  a  number  of  experiments  in  anatomy.  The  dem- 
onstrator was  Mile.  Biheron,  who  is  said  to  have  had  a 
veritable  passion  for  both  anatomy  and  surgery.  So  im- 
pressed was  Gustavus  with  the  extraordinary  skill  and 
knowledge  of  this  gifted  daughter  of  France  that  he  of- 
fered her  the  position  of  demonstrator  of  anatomy  in  the 
royal  University  of  Sweden. 

Other  branches  of  science,  apparently  quite  as  alien  as 
anatomy  to  women's  taste  and  talent,  are  mineralogy  and 
metallurgy.  Yet  as  early  as  the  first  half  of  the  seven- 
teenth century,  the  Baroness  de  Beausoleil  had  achieved  a 
great  reputation  by  her  investigations  into  the  mineral 
treasures  of  France.  Indeed,  she  may,  strange  as  it  may 
appear,  be  regarded  as  the  first  mining  engineer  of  her 
native  land.  She  details  the  qualifications  of  a  mining  en- 
gineer and  tells  us  he  must,  among  other  things,  be  well 
versed  in  chemistry,  mineralogy,  geometry,  mechanics  and 

to  the  inscription  on  her  tomb,  which  seems  to  authenticate  all  the 
claims  made  for  her,  expresses  himself  as  follows:  "In  quoting  this 
document,  I  do  not  intend  that  my  readers  shall  accord  to  it  a 
credence  that  I  myself  abstain  from  giving  it,  but  only  that  they 
may  know  of  it,  if  for  no  other  reason  than  to  satisfy  their  curi- 
osity.' '  Op.  cit.,  pp.  30  and  362,  note  I.  Should  the  traditions  re- 
garding this  precocious  girl  be  verified,  it  would  be  most  gratifying  to 
the  people  of  Bologna,  for  it  would  add  one  more  to  the  long  list 
of  her  illustrious  women. 


WOMEN    IN    THE    NATURAL    SCIENCES    239 

hydraulics.  As  for  herself,  she  assures  us  that  she  de- 
voted thirty  years  of  unremitting  study  to  these  divers 
branches. 

To  Mme.  de  Beausoleil  is  also  attributed  the  glory  of 
awakening  her  countrymen's  interest  in  the  mineral  re- 
sources of  France,  and  of  showing  them  how  their  proper 
exploitation  would  inure  not  only  to  the  credit  of  the 
nation  abroad  but  also  to  its  prosperity  at  home. 

She  was  the  author  of  two  works  which  prove  that  she 
was  a  woman  of  rare  attainments  combined  with  excep- 
tional breadth  of  view  and  political  acumen.  She  was 
deeply  concerned  in  the  development  of  the  mineral  re- 
sources of  her  country  and  foresaw  how  greatly  they  could 
be  made  to  contribute  to  the  augmentation  of  the  nation's 
finances. 

Her  work  entitled  La  Restitution  de  Pluton  is  a  report 
on  the  mines  and  ore  deposits  of  France,  and  is  a  docu- 
ment as  precious  as  it  is  curious.  It  was  addressed  to  Car- 
dinal Richelieu,  and  shows  how  the  French  monarch  could, 
if  the  subterranean  treasures  of  the  country  were  properly 
developed,  become  the  greatest  ruler  in  Christendom  and 
his  subjects  the  happiest  of  all  peoples. 

Another  report  by  this  energetic  and  enthusiastic  woman 
is  in  the  same  strain.  In  it  she  proves  how  the  King  of 
France,  by  utilizing  the  underground  riches  of  his  country, 
could  make  himself  and  his  people  independent  of  all  other 
nations.1 

i  The  titles  of  the  two  works  of  this  remarkable  woman  are  of 
sufficient  interest  to  be  given  in  full.     They  are  as  follows: 

1.  Veritable  Declaration  de  la  Decouverte  des  Mines  et  Minieresi 
par  le  Moyen  desquelles  Sa  Majeste  et  Sujets  se  peuvent  passer  des 
Pays  Etrangers,  Paris,  1632. 

2.  La  Restitution  de  Pluton  a  Mgr.  I' Eminent  Card,  de  BicJielieu, 
des  Mines  et  Minieres  de  France,  cachees  jusqu'd  present  au  Ventre, 
de  la  Terre,  par  la  Moyen  desquelles  les  Finances  de  sa  Majeste 
seront  beaucoup  plus  Grandes  que  celles  de  tous  les  Princes  Chrestiens 
et  ses  Sujets  plus  Eeureux  de  tous  les  Peuples.    Paris,  1640. 


240  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

In  these  two  productions  Mme.  de  Beausoleil  treats  of  the 
science  of  mining,  the  different  kinds  of  mines,  the  assaying 
of  ores  and  the  divers  methods  of  smelting  them,  as  well  as 
of  the  general  principles  of  metallurgy,  as  then  understood. 
But,  unlike  the  majority  of  her  contemporaries,  this  en- 
lightened woman  had  no  patience  with  those  who  believed 
that  the  earth's  hidden  treasures  could  not  be  discovered 
without  recourse  to  magic  or  to  the  aid  of  demons.  She 
was  unsparing  in  her  ridicule  of  those  who  had  faith  in 
the  existence  of  gnomes  and  kobolds,  or  thought  that  ore 
deposits  could  be  located  only  by  divining-rods  or  similar 
foolish  contrivances  which  were  relics  of  an  ignorant  and 
superstitious  age. 

The  same  century  that  witnessed  the  exploring  activity 
of  the  Baroness  de  Beausoleil  saw  the  beginnings  of  the 
notable  achievements  of  a  daughter  of  Germany,  well 
known  in  the  annals  of  science  as  Maria  Sibylla  Merian. 
Born  in  Frankfort  in  1647,  she  died  in  Amsterdam  in  1717, 
after  a  somewhat  checkered  career,  most  of  which  was  de- 
voted to  the  pursuit  of  natural  history.  So  fond  was  she 
of  flowers  and  insects  that  it  is  said  they  told  her  all  their 
secrets. 

After  having  familiarized  herself  with  the  fauna  and 
flora  of  her  native  land,  she  proceeded  to  investigate  the 
collections  of  the  principal  European  cabinets  of  natural 
history.  This  only  fired  her  ambition  to  see  more  of  the 
world  and  study  Nature  where  she  is  seen  in  her  greatest 
splendor  and  luxuriance. 

She  accordingly  resolved  to  undertake  a  journey  to  the 
equatorial  regions  of  South  America.  Such  a  voyage  can 
now  be  made  with  comparative  ease,  but  in  her  days  it  was 
fraught  with  discomforts  and  dangers  of  all  kinds,  and 
one  that  no  woman  thought  to  venture  on  unless  obliged  to 
do  so  by  stern  necessity. 

But  she  was  set  on  investigating  animals  and  plants  in 
their  own  habitats  in  the  glorious  and  exuberant  flora  of 


WOMEN    IN    THE    NATURAL    SCIENCES    241 

the  tropics  and,  accompanied  by  her  two  daughters,  Helena 
and  Dorothea,  she  embarked  for  Surinam.  Here,  assisted 
by  her  daughters,  who,  like  their  mother,  were  both  skillful 
artists,  the  intrepid  naturalist  spent  two  years  in  studying 
the  wonders  of  plant  and  animal  life  that  everywhere 
greeted  her  delighted  vision.  All  the  time  not  occupied  in 
research  work  was  devoted  to  sketching  and  painting  those 
superb  insects  that  are  so  abundant  in  tropical  fields  and 
forests.1 

Returning  to  Holland  with  her  precious  scientific  treas- 
ures, she  began  the  preparation  of  a  work  that  will  long 
endure  as  a  monument  to  her  knowledge  and  industry.  It 
was  a  magnificent  volume  in  folio  on  the  insects  of  Surinam. 
It  appeared  simultaneously  in  Dutch  and  Latin,  and  was 
subsequently  translated  into  French. 

In  illustrating  this  sumptuous  work,  Frau  Merian  was 
greatly  assisted  by  her  younger  daughter,  Dorothea.  The 
etchings  and  hand-colored  reproductions  of  the  gorgeous 
butterflies  and  flowers  of  Surinam  commanded  universal 
admiration,  and  marked  a  new  epoch  in  book-making.  Even 
to-day  this  noble  volume  is  eagerly  sought  by  both  book- 
lovers  and  men  of  science,  for  it  is  not  only  a  work  of  rare 
conception  and  beauty  but  also  one  of  exceptional  accuracy 
in  illustration  and  statement  of  fact.2 

Besides  etchings  of  multiform  insects,  lizards  and  ba- 
trachians  indigenous  to  Dutch  Guiana,  there  were  in  this 
unique  volume  carefully  executed  illustrations  of  plants 
and  trees  peculiar  to  tropical  America,  such  as  vanilla, 
cacao,  and  the  species  of  manihot  which  constitutes  the 
staff  of  life  of  so  large  a  portion  of  the  population  in  the 
basins  of  the  Amazon  and  the  Orinoco. 

A  new  and  enlarged  edition  of  this  work  was  published 

1  Die  Verdienste  der  Frauen  um  Naturwissenschaft  und  EeilJcunde, 
p.  169,  von  Dr.  C.  F.  Harless,  Gottingen,  1830. 

2  The  Latin  title  of  this  interesting  work  is  De  Generatione  et 
Metamorphose  Insectorum  Surinamensium,  Amsterdam,   1705. 


243  JVOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

after  Frau  Merian  's  death  by  her  daughter  Dorothea.  Th0 
same  gifted  daughter  showed  her  interest  in  her  parent's 
work  and  her  devotion  to  her  memory  by  bringing  out  a 
beautifully  illustrated  edition  of  her  mother 's  earliest  work 
which  treated  of  the  wonderful  life-history  of  silk-worms.1 

The  century  following  that  which  had  celebrated  the! 
scientific  triumphs  of  Maria  Merian  found  in  Josephine 
Kablick,  born  in  1787  in  Hohenelbe,  Bohemia,  a  woman 
who  was  destined  to  prove  a  worthy  successor,  as  a  nature- 
student,  of  the  noted  daughter  of  Frankfort-on-the-Main. 

From  her  tenderest  years  she  exhibited  a  passionate  love 
for  every  form  of  plant  life.  In  addition  to  this,  she  had,' 
while  yet  young,  the  good  fortune  of  studying  under  the] 
best  botanists  of  her  time. 

Soon  she  became  an  enthusiastic  collector  and  was  in  a 
short  time  the  happy  possessor  of  a  herbarium  which  con-i 
tained  many  new  species  of  plants  which  she  had  discov« 
ered  during  her  frequent  botanical  excursions.  From 
making  collections  for  her  private  herbarium,  she  wad 
gradually  led  to  make  collections  for  the  schools  and  col-1 
leges  of  her  native  country,  as  well  as  for  the  museums  and] 
learned  societies  of  various  parts  of  Europe.  Many  public] 
institutions  owed  to  her  cordial  cooperation  some  of  thd 
choicest  treasures  in  their  herbaria,  and  not  a  few  botanicafi 
writers  of  her  day  found  in  her  an  intelligent  and  sympa-^ 
thetic  collaborator. 

But  Frau  Kablick 's  interest  in  nature  was  not  confined^ 
to  plants.  She  was  an  assiduous  student  of  paleontology! 
as  well  as  of  botany,  and  the  many  fossil  animals  and  plants! 
named  in  her  honor  testify  to  her  success  in  the  pursuit  on 
her  favorite  branches  of  science. 

There   was  nothing  of  the  conventional   blue-stockind 

i  The  Latin  edition  of  this  -work  is  entitled  Erucarum  Ortusl 
Alimenta  et  Paradoxa  Metamorphosis,  Amsterdam,  1718.  It  waJ 
afterwards  translated  into  French  and  published  under  the  title!) 
Eistoire  ties  Insects  de  I' Europe. 


WOMEN    IN    THE    NATURAL    SCIENCES    243 

about  this  ardent  votary  of  nature.  Strong  and  healthy, 
neither  wind  nor  rain  interfered  with  her  fieldwork  in 
botany  or  paleontology.  It  was  her  greatest  pleasure  to 
roam  through  dark  forests  and  scale  high  mountains  in 
search  of  new  species  of  plants  and  fossils.  And  the  suc- 
cess which  rewarded  her  efforts  was  such  that  the  old  and 
trained  naturalists  among  her  male  friends  had  reason  to 
envy  her  good  fortune  as  an  explorer. 

But  Frau  Kablick  never  permitted  her  frequent  excur- 
sions, or  her  devotion  to  science,  to  cause  her  to  neglect 
the  duties  of  her  household.  Fortunately,  her  husband  was 
also  an  ardent  student  of  nature,  and  while  his  wife  was 
devoting  her  attention  to  botany  and  paleontology,  he  was 
making  investigations  in  zoology  and  mineralogy.  They 
spent  fifty  happy  years  together  in  the  pursuit  of  science 
and  their  joint  efforts  contributed  not  a  little  toward  the 
advancement  of  the  branches  of  science  to  which  they  had 
devoted  their  lives  with  such  well-directed  effort  and  en- 
thusiasm. 

As  the  fruitful  life  of  Josephine  Kablick  who  had  shed 
such  luster  on  her  sex  in  Bohemia  was  drawing  to  a  close, 
a  young  woman  in  Germany,  Amalie  Dietrich  by  name,  was 
preparing  herself  to  fill  the  void  which  would  be  occasioned 
by  her  predecessor 's  death.  Her  first  love,  as  a  young  girl, 
was  plant  life,  and  this  was  subsequently  accentuated  by 
her  husband,  who  was  not  only  a  botanist  himself  but  also 
one  who  belonged  to  a  distinguished  family  of  botanists. 

A  keen  observer  and  an  indefatigable  collector,  Frau 
Dietrich  soon  became  known  throughout  Europe  as  a  bot- 
anist of  marked  ability  and  daring.  She  was  wont,  unac- 
companied, to  climb  the  highest  peaks  of  the  Salzburg 
Alps,  and  spend  entire  weeks  there  seeking  new  species  of 
Alpine  flora.  During  the  day  she  explored  the  deep  ra- 
vines and  clambered  along  the  brambly  ledges  of  beetling 
precipices,  and  during  the  night  she  sought  shelter  and 
repose  in  the  humble  hut  of  some  hospitable  herdsman. 


244  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

Valuable,  however,  as  was  Amalie  Dietrich 's  work  in  the 
Austrian  Alps,  it  was  but  a  preparation  for  that  which 
some  years  later  she  was  to  enter  upon  in  far-off  Australia. 
Here  she  devoted  twelve  of  the  best  years  of  her  life  to  the 
cultivation  of  botany  in  the  virgin  soil  of  Queensland. 
Here,  too,  she  surprised  everyone  by  her  venturesome  spirit 
no  less  than  by  her  irrepressible  zeal  in  making  collections. 
Heedless  of  danger,  she  plunged  quite  alone  into  the  wil- 
derness and  spent  days  and  weeks  at  a  time  with  the  wild 
aborigines. 

But  she  secured  what  she  went  in  quest  of, — a  large  and 
valuable  collection  of  plants,  containing  many  new  and 
interesting  species.  Besides  these,  she  was  able  to  bring 
back  with  her  to  Europe  a  large  mass  of  zoological  speci- 
mens as  well  as  countless  domestic  utensils  and  implements 
of  warfare  and  husbandry  employed  by  the  savages  among 
whom  she  so  frequently  journeyed  and  with  whose  man- 
ners and  customs  she  eventually  became  so  familiar. 

Modest  and  trustworthy,  Frau  Dietrich  had  a  host  of 
friends  in  the  scientific  world,  and  the  number  of  plants 
which  bear  her  name  are  not  only  a  tribute  to  her  worth, 
but  a  striking  evidence  of  the  extent  of  her  activity  in  the 
pursuit  of  the  science  which  became  the  absorbing  passion 
of  her  life.1 

Of  Eussian  women  who  have  become  specially  noted  for 
their  contributions  to  natural  science,  a  very  prominent 
place  must  be  assigned  to  Sophia  Pereyaslawzewa.  After 
receiving  the  doctorate  of  science  in  the  University  of 
Zurich,  she  became  director  of  the  biological  station  at  Se- 
bastopol,  a  position  she  held  with  great  eclat  during  twelve 
years.  Here  she  made  numerous  important  researches  on 
manifold  forms  of  marine  life  and  prepared  many  works 
for  the  press  in  German  and  French,  as  well  as  in  her  na- 

1  Die  Leistungen  der  deutschen  Frau  in  den  letzen  vierhundert 
Jahren  auf  wissenschaftlichem  Gehiebte,  p.  85,  von  Elise  Oelsner, 
Guhrau,  1894. 


WOMEN    IN    THE    NATURAL    SCIENCES    245 

tive  Kussian.  Her  Monographie  de  Turbellaries  de  la  Mer 
Noire,  a  large  and  beautifully  illustrated  volume  published 
at  Odessa  in  1892,  placed  her  at  once  among  biologists  of 
the  first  rank.  Indeed,  so  meritorious  was  this  production 
of  the  talented  daughter  of  Holy  Russia  that  the  Congress 
of  Naturalists  in  1893  did  not  hesitate  to  recognize  its  ex- 
ceptional value  by  conferring  on  the  fair  authoress  a  spe- 
cial prize. 

This  gifted  biologist  has  since  rendered  distinct  service 
in  the  cause  of  science  by  her  explorations  of  the  Gulf  of 
Naples  and  the  coasts  of  France.  Her  activity  is  pro- 
digious, and  the  long  list  of  books  and  monographs  which 
she  has  published  on  the  lower  forms  of  marine  life  in  the 
Black  and  Mediterranean  seas  shows  that  she  has  a  capacity 
for  work  that  is  truly  extraordinary. 

Here  is,  probably,  the  place  to  make  mention  of  a  woman 
of  encyclopaedic  mind,  Clemence  Augustine  Royer,  who  was 
born  in  1830  in  Nantes,  France.  She  wrote  on  such  a  va- 
riety of  subjects  that  it  is  difficult  to  classify  her.  She  was 
in  no  sense  of  the  word  a  specialist,  and  she  seems  by  tem- 
perament to  have  been  averse  to  confining  herself  to  any 
one  branch  of  knowledge. 

Her  first  work  to  attract  particular  attention  was  one  on 
a  topic  connected  with  political  economy.  A  prize  had 
been  offered  for  the  discussion  of  this  subject,  and  the  little 
French  woman  acquitted  herself  so  well  that  she  had  the 
honor  of  sharing  the  prize  with  the  noted  Proudhon.  She 
has  also  written  many  works  on  philosophy  and  physics. 
Among  these  are  two  which  attracted  considerable  notice 
at  the  time  of  their  publication.  In  one  of  them  she  attacks 
the  positivism  of  Comte;  in  the  other  she  assails  Laplace's 
hypothesis  regarding  the  origin  of  the  material  universe. 

But  the  work  which  made  her  famous,  particularly  in 
France,  was  her  translation  into  French  in  1862  of  Dar- 
win's Origin  of  Species.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  this  version 
created  as  much  of  a  sensation  in  France  as  the  original 


246  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

had  caused  in  Great  Britain  and  America.  Her  preface 
to  the  work  of  the  English  naturalist,  in  which  she  indi- 
cates the  results  which  flow  from  an  acceptance  of  the 
transformist  theory,  created  a  veritable  storm  in  both  re- 
ligious and  scientific  circles. 

So  gratified  was  Madame  Royer  by  the  impression  made 
by  this  preface  and  so  pleased  was  she  with  the  contro- 
versy which  she  had  started,  that  she  expanded  her  sum- 
mary of  the  theory  of  evolution  as  therein  given  and  pub- 
lished it  in  1870  under  the  title  of  Origine  de  V Homme  et 
de  Societes.  This  production  was  so  revolutionary  in  char- 
acter and  so  subversive  of  teachings  long  held  sacred  that 
it  provoked  an  indignant  protest  from  all  quarters,  and  the 
author  was  at  once  ranked  with  such  radical  exponents  of 
the  new  science  as  Voght,  Biichner  and  Hseckel. 

After  the  appearance  of  this  production,  she  wrote  nu- 
merous other  works,  several  of  them  on  subjects  relating 
to  natural  science,  especially  in  its  connection  with  anthro- 
pology and  prehistoric  archaeology.  And  so  great  was  her 
breadth  of  view  and  so  exceptional  was  her  grasp  of  all 
subjects  discussed  by  her  that  Renan  declared  of  her,  Elle 
est  presque  un  homme  de  genie — She  is  almost  a  man  of 
genius. 

Mme.  Royer  was  frequently  spoken  of  as  a  candidate  for 
the  French  Institute,  but  she  was  so  well  aware  of  the 
prejudices  against  the  admission  of  women  to  membership 
in  this  learned  body  that  she  never  allowed  herself  to  con- 
sider the  proposal  seriously.  She  was  certainly  a  brainy 
woman,  and  in  her  own  department  of  intellectual  effort 
she  exhibited  as  much  talent  as  did  George  Sand  and  Mme. 
de  Stael  in  literature  and  history. 

An  entirely  different  type  of  woman  from  the  radical  and 
disputatious  Mme.  Royer  was  the  charming  and  cultured 
lady,  Miss  Eleanor  Ormerod,  her  contemporary,  who,  in  her 
chosen  department  of  science,  won  both  fame  and  the  last- 
ing gratitude  of  her  fellowmen. 


WOMEN    IN    THE    NATURAL    SCIENCES    247 

Miss  Ormerod,  unlike  Mme.  Royer,  was  preeminently  a 
specialist,  and  the  branch  of  science  in  which  she  achieved 
distinction  was  entomology,  or  rather  that  branch  of  it 
known  as  economic  entomology.  From  her  childhood  she 
manifested  an  unusual  interest  in  all  forms  of  insects,  but 
particularly  in  those  which  are  serviceable  to  mankind  or 
are  destructive  to  farms  and  gardens,  orchards  and  forests. 

Fortunately  for  the  gratification  of  her  peculiar  bent  of 
mind,  nearly  half  of  Miss  Ormerod 's  life  was  spent  in  a 
locality  which  was  specially  favorable  to  the  study  of  in- 
sects which  are  obnoxious  to  the  gardener,  the  farmer  and 
the  forester.  This  was  at  the  confluence  of  the  Wye  and 
the  Severn,  where  her  father  owned  a  large  landed  estate, 
part  of  which  was  under  cultivation  and  part  wood  and 
park  land. 

Here  the  young  girl  made  her  first  collection  of  insects, 
and  here  she  began  her  studies  on  the  cause  and  nature  of 
the  parasitic  attacks  upon  crops.  Here  she  first  realized 
the  frightful  ravages  that  were  occasioned  by  the  manifold 
insect  pests  that  infest  not  only  trees,  shrubs,  cereals  and 
vegetables,  but  also  flocks  and  herds  as  well.  And  here,  too, 
she  resolved  to  devote  her  life  to  devising  preventive  and 
remedial  treatment  for  the  evils  which  were  robbing  the 
husbandman  of  so  great  a  part  of  the  fruits  of  his  toil. 

After  taking  this  generous  resolution,  the  life  of  our 
young  heroine  was,  like  that  of  Liebig  and  Pasteur,  de- 
voted to  the  welfare  of  her  fellowmen.  And  like  these  noble 
benefactors  of  their  race,  her  thought  was  always  how  she 
might  prevent  the  losses  and  increase  the  products  of  the 
tillers  of  the  soil.  Entomology  with  her  was  not  mere 
nomenclature — a  knowledge  of  strange  and  fantastic  names, 
which,  with  the  ignorant,  constitutes  a  distinction — but  one 
of  the  most  practical  and  useful  of  the  sciences. 

Miss  Ormerod  might,  had  she  so  elected,  have  won  fame 
as  a  systematic  entomologist  and  as  a  distinguished  con- 
tributor to  the  already  long  list  of  genera  and  species  of 


248  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

insects.  She  might  have  devoted  herself  to  theoretical 
work,  or  bent  her  energies  towards  the  general  advance- 
ment of  the  science,  like  Fabricius,  Swammerdam,  West- 
wood  and  Burnmeister;  but  she  preferred  to  forego  all 
the  glory  that  might  accrue  from  pursuing  such  a  course, 
and  to  direct  her  efforts  in  such  wise  as  to  be  of  most 
service  to  humanity. 

Like  the  great  Pasteur,  after  his  long  and  laborious  ex- 
perimental researches  on  silkworm  diseases,  Miss  Ormerod 
could,  at  the  end  of  her  illustrious  career,  declare  with 
truth:  "The  results  which  I  have  obtained  are,  perhaps, 
less  brilliant  than  those  which  I  might  have  anticipated 
from  researches  pursued  in  the  field  of  pure  science,  but  I 
have  the  satisfaction  of  having  served  my  country  in  en- 
deavoring, to  the  best  of  my  ability,  to  discover  the  remedy 
for  great  misery.  It  is  to  the  honor  of  a  scientific  man  that 
he  values  discoveries  which  at  their  birth  can  only  obtain 
the  esteem  of  his  equals,  far  above  those  which  at  once  con- 
quer the  favor  of  the  crowd  by  the  immediate  utility  of 
their  application ;  but,  in  the  presence  of  misfortune,  it  is 
equally  an  honor  to  sacrifice  everything  in  the  endeavor  to 
relieve  it. ' ' x 

Miss  Ormerod 's  labors  were  not,  it  is  true,  instrumental 
in  rescuing  from  destruction  a  nation's  chief  industries,  as 
were  Pasteur's  in  the  case  of  his  famous  researches  on  the 
phyloxera  of  the  grape  vine  or  the  pebrine  of  the  silkworm. 
Nor  had  they  to  do  with  such  frightful  industrial  disturb- 
ances as  have  frequently  been  occasioned  by  rinderpest  or 
by  the  potato  blight  in  Ireland  in  1845. 

This  is  true  in  so  far  as  any  one  pest  is  concerned.  But 
when  one  reflects  on  the  scope  of  Miss  Ormerod 's  investi- 
gations and  considers  how  far-reaching  were  her  researches 
and  how  many  and  diverse  industries  were  embraced  by  the 
remedial  and  prophylactic  measures  which  she  proposed, 

1  In  his  preface  to  Les  Maladies  des  Vers  a  Soie. 


WOMEN    IN    THE    NATURAL    SCIENCES    249 

one  cannot  but  realize  the  immense  importance  of  her  life- 
work. 

The  fact  that  her  activities  were  confined  chiefly  to 
old  and  well-known  pests — insects  from  which  the  farmer 
and  the  gardener  and  the  forester  had  suffered  for  cen- 
turies, and  which  they  had  come  to  regard  as  necessary  and 
inevitable  evils — does  not  detract  from  the  merit  and  the 
value  of  her  labors.  That  she  should  have  taken  up  a  work 
which  affected  so  many  people  and  have  been  so  successful 
in  abating,  or  in  entirely  removing  evils  which  had  so  long 
afflicted  agriculturists  and  stock-growers,  shows  that  she 
was  a  woman  of  rare  courage  and  determination  as  well  as 
one  of  invincible  persistence  and  of  intellectual  resources 
of  a  very  high  order. 

During  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  Miss  Ormerod 
devoted  practically  the  whole  of  her  time  to  the  study  of 
economic  entomology  and  to  spreading  a  knowledge  of  it 
among  her  countrymen.  From  1877  to  1898  she  published 
annual  reports  on  injurious  insects  and  sent  them  broad- 
cast throughout  Great  Britain  and  her  colonies.  In  addi- 
tion to  this  she  wrote  a  number  of  manuals  and  text-books 
on  insects  injurious  to  food  crops,  forest  trees,  orchards 
and  bush  fruits. 

Nor  was  this  all.  She  also  prepared  for  gratuitous  dis- 
tribution a  large  number  of  four-page  leaflets  on  the  most 
common  farm  pests.  Of  the  leaflet,  for  instance,  on  the 
warble-fly,  its  life-history,  methods  of  prevention  and  rem- 
edy, no  less  than  a  hundred  and  seventy  thousand  copies 
were  printed.  And  so  great  was  the  demand  for  her  leaflet 
on  the  gooseberry  red  spider  that  a  single  mail  brought  her 
an  order  for  three  thousand  copies. 

Miss  Ormerod,  it  is  proper  to  state  here,  received  no  re- 
muneration whatever  for  her  great  services  to  the  public. 
On  the  contrary,  she  gave  not  only  all  her  time  gratui- 
tously, but  bore  a  great  part  of  the  expense  of  printing  and 


250  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

distributing  her  publications.  The  amount  of  good  she  thus 
did  unaided  and  alone  cannot  be  estimated. 

In  her  leaflet  on  the  warble-fly,  also  known  as  bot-fly,  she 
estimates  the  annual  damage  to  the  stock-growers  of  the 
United  Kingdom  from  this  pest  at  from  £3,000,000  to 
£4,000,000.  The  losses  due  to  fruit,  grain  and  vegetable 
insects  of  various  kinds,  before  she  began  her  insect  cru- 
sade, were  much  greater.  In  Great  Britain  and  her  col- 
onies they  amounted  to  very  many  millions  of  pounds  ster- 
ling every  year.1 

And  most  of  these  losses,  as  she  demonstrated,  were  pre- 
ventable by  simple  precautions  which  she  eventually  suc- 
ceeded in  inducing  the  people  to  adopt.  How  much  she  was 
instrumental  in  saving  annually  to  the  farmers  and  garden- 
ers of  England  by  her  writings  and  lectures  can  only  be 
imagined,  but  the  sum  must  have  been  immense. 

When  we  recollect  that  Miss  Ormerod  accomplished  all 
her  work  before  it  occurred  to  the  English  Board  of  Agri- 
culture to  appoint  a  government  entomologist,  we  shall 
realize  what  a  pioneer  she  was  in  the  career  in  which  she 
achieved  such  distinction  and  through  which  she  conferred 
such  inestimable  benefits  upon  her  fellows. 

Miss  Ormerod 's  entomological  publications,  especially  her 
annual  reports,  brought  her  into  relations  with  people  of 
all  classes  throughout  the  whole  world.  Her  correspond- 
ence, in  consequence,  was  enormous,  and  not  infrequently 
amounted  to  from  fifty  to  a  hundred  letters  a  day.  The 
great  entomologists  of  Europe  and  America  held  her  in  the 
highest  esteem,  and  had  implicit  faith  in  her  judgment  in 
all  matters  pertaining  to  her  specialty. 

One  day  she  would  receive  a  letter  from  an  English  gar- 
dener begging  for  a  remedy  against  the  strawberry  beetle. 

i  It  is  estimated  that  the  loss  to  the  United  States  from  cattle 
ticks  alone  is  $100,000,000  a  year.  According  to  the  year-book  of 
the  Agricultural  Department  for  1904,  the  annual  losses  to  agriculture 
from  destructive  insects  reach  the  enormous  sum  of  $420,000,000. 


WOMEN    IN    THE    NATURAL    SCIENCES    251 

The  next  day  she  would  have  a  similar  letter  regarding 
mite-galls  on  black  currants,  or  pea-weevil  larvae  or  clover- 
eel  worms.  Again  there  would  be  a  communication  from 
Norway  requesting  advice  about  the  Hessian  fly,  or  from 
Argentina  asking  information  concerning  a  certain  kind  of 
destructive  grass  beetle,  or  from  India  appealing  for  help 
against  a  pernicious  species  of  forest  fly,  or  from  South 
Africa  seeking  a  relief  from  the  boot-beetle.  And  still 
again,  she  was  consulted  by  her  foreign  correspondents 
about  termites,  which  were  causing  havoc  among  the  young 
cocoa  trees  of  Ceylon,  or  about  certain  peculiar  species  of 
Australian  larvae,  or  about  the  devastating  action  of  the 
pine  beetle  in  the  Scotch  forests,  or  about  the  wheat  midge 
and  antler  moth  in  Finland. 

One  day  she  had  a  communication  from  the  Austrian 
Embassy  regarding  a  beetle  that  was  eating  the  oats  about 
Constantinople,  and  not  long  afterwards  she  received  a 
letter  from  the  Chinese  Minister  in  London  begging  for 
information  as  to  how  to  prevent  the  ravages  of  certain 
noxious  bugs  in  the  lee-chee  orchards  of  China. 

In  view  of  all  these  facts  it  is  not  surprising  that  Miss 
Ormerod  became  an  active  and  valued  colleague  of  some 
of  England's  most  noted  scientific  men.  Professor  Huxley 
said  of  her  in  connection  with  certain  work  performed  by 
her  as  a  member  of  one  of  the  committees  to  which  he 
belonged  that  "she  knew  more  about  the  business"  than 
all  the  rest  put  together. 

Miss  Ormerod 's  services  and  attainments,  it  is  gratifying 
to  note,  were  not  without  recognition  in  high  quarters.  Be- 
sides being  in  constant  correspondence  with  the  most  emi- 
nent entomologists  of  the  world,  consulting  entomologist  to 
the  Royal  Agricultural  Society  of  England  and  examiner 
in  agricultural  entomology  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh, 
she  was  a  member  of  many  learned  societies  in  both  the  Old 
and  the  New  World.  She  was  also  the  recipient  of  many 
medals,  two  of  which  came  from  Russia. 


252  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

The  honor,  however,  which  gave  her  the  most  pleasure 
was  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws,  which  was  conferred  oi|l 
her  hy  the  University  of  Edinburgh.  It  was  the  first  time 
this  old  and  conservative  institution  thus  honored  a  womanj 
but  in  honoring  Miss  Ormerod  it  honored  itself  as  well.1   \ 

But  when  one  considers  the  magnitude  of  Miss  Ormerod  '$ 
services  to  her  country  and  to  the  world,  when  one  reflect^ 
on  the  tens  of  millions  of  pounds  sterling  which  she  saved 
to  the  British  Empire  by  her  researches  and  writings,  these' 
honors  seem  trivial  and  unworthy  of  the  great  nation  whicl^ 
she  so  signally  benefited.  If  any  of  her  countrymen  had! 
labored  so  long  and  so  successfully  and  made  so  many 
sacrifices  for  the  welfare  of  the  nation  as  she  had,  he  would 
have  been  knighted  or  ennobled.  But  age-long  prejudiced 
and  traditions  will  not  yet  permit  England  to  bestow  the 
same  honors  on  women  as  on  men,  no  matter  how  brilliant 
their  attainments  or  how  distinguished  their  services  to  the 
crown  and  to  humanity.  Recognition  of  this  kind  may  pos- 
sibly come  as  one  of  the  desirable  innovations  of  the  twen- 
tieth century.  No  lover  of  fair  play  can  deny  '  ■  'tis  a  con- 
summation devoutly  to  be  wished. ' ' 2 

i  The  dean  of  the  law  faculty  in  presenting  Miss  Ormerod  to 
the  vice-chancellor  on  this  occasion  and  speaking  before  an  audi- 
ence of  three  thousand  people  said,  among  other  things:  "The  pre- 
eminent position  which  Miss  Ormerod  holds  in  the  world  of  science  is 
the  reward  of  patient  study  and  unwearying  observation.  Her  in- 
vestigations have  been  chiefly  directed  towards  the  discovery  of 
methods  for  the  prevention  of  the  ravages  of  those  insects  which  are 
injurious  to  orchard,  field  and  forest.  Her  labors  have  been  crowned 
with  such  success,  that  she  is  entitled  to  be  hailed  as  the  protectress 
of  agriculture  and  the  fruits  of  the  earth — a  beneficent  Demeter  of 
the  nineteenth  century."  Eleanor  Ormerod,  Economic  Entomologist, 
Autobiography  and  Correspondence,  Edited  by  Robert  Wallace,  p.  96, 
London,  1904. 

2  The  Canadian  Entomologist,  September,  1901,  in  an  obituary 
notice  of  Miss  Ormerod,  well  voiced  the  high  appreciation  in  which 
she  was  held  throughout  the  civilized  world  in  the  following  para- 
graph:   "Miss  Ormerod  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  women  of 


WOMEN    IN    THE    NATURAL    SCIENCES    253 

The  names  of  the  women  in  the  United  States  who  have 
become  prominent  by  their  researches  and  writings  in  the 
various  branches  of  the  natural  sciences  would  make  a  long 
list.  And  when  one  recalls  the  fact  that  it  was  only  in  the 
latter  part  of  the  nineteenth  century  that  American  women 
were  afforded  an  opportunity  to  study  science,  it  is  a  matter 
of  surprise  that  the  list  is  so  extended.  For  practically  no 
provision  was  made  for  the  serious  pursuit  by  them  of  the 
natural  sciences  until  the  opening  of  Vassar  College  in 
1865,  and  it  was  not  until  the  closing  years  of  the  century 
that  the  portals  of  many  men 's  colleges  were  unlocked  and 
thrown  open  to  the  hitherto  proscribed  sex.  Considering 
pll  the  obstacles  they  had  to  overcome,  the  ignorance,  the 
prejudice,  the  opposition  of  all  kinds  they  had  to  combat 
in  the  United  States,  women  have  already  accomplished 
wonders  and  bid  fair  to  achieve  much  more  in  the  near 
future. 

Now  almost  every  educational  institution  in  the  land, 
private  or  state,  has  one  or  more  women  professors  or  asso- 
ciate professors.  They  teach  all  the  branches  of  the  natural 
sciences  that  are  taught  by  their  male  colleagues, — botany, 
geology,  mineralogy,  zoology,   anatomy,  bacteriology  and 

the  latter  half  of  the  nineteenth  century  and  did  more  than  any  one 
else  in  the  British  Isles  to  further  the  interests  of  farmers,  fruit- 
growers and  gardeners  by  making  known  to  them  methods  for  con- 
trolling and  subduing  their  multiform  insect  pests.  Her  labors  were 
unwearied  and  unselfish;  she  received  no  remuneration  for  her  services, 
but  cheerfully  expended  her  private  means  in  carrying  out  her  in- 
vestigations and  publishing  their  results.  We  know  not  now  by 
whom  in  England  this  work  can  be  continued;  it  is  not  likely  that 
anyone  can  follow  in  the  unique  path  laid  out  by  Miss  Ormerod;  we 
may,  therefore,  cherish  the  hope  that  the  Government  of  the  day  will 
hold  out  a  helping  hand  and  establish  an  entomological  bureau  for 
the  lasting  benefit  of  the  great  agricultural  interests  of  the  coun- 
try." Professor  J.  Eitzema  Bos,  the  distinguished  entomologist  of 
Holland,  had  no  hesitation  in  proclaiming  Miss  Ormerod  the  first 
economic  entomologist  in  England  and  one  of  the  most  famous  eco- 
nomic entomologists  in  the  world. 


254  WOMA*N    IN    SCIENCE 

all  the  numerous  subdivisions  of  these  sciences, — and  they 
teach  them  with  success  and  eclat. 

They  also  occupy  responsible  scientific  positions  in  varil 
ous  state  and  federal  institutions.  Thus  one  woman  hai 
been  the  principal  of  the  Denver  School  of  Mines,  while 
another  has  been  the  state  entomologist  for  Missouri. 
Women  are  also  found  doing  important  work  in  the  Na4 
tional  Museum,  in  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  and  in  the 
Agricultural  Department  in  Washington,  as  well  as  in  tha 
various  museums,  botanical  gardens  and  public  laboratories 
of  the  country  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific. 

Among  those  who  have  deserved  well  of  science  in  thd 
United  States  by  their  investigations  and  writings  are  Olive 
Thorne  Miller  and  Florence  Merriam  in  ornithology;  Sul 
sanna  Phelps  Gage,  Dr.  Ida  H.  Hyde,  Mary  H.  Hinckley! 
Cornelia  M.  Clapp,  Edith  J.  and  Agnes  M.  Claypole  id 
biology ;  Rose  S.  Eigenman  in  icthyology ;  Edith  M.  Patch, 
Elizabeth  W.  Peckham,  Emily  A.  Smith,  Cora  H.  Clarke, 
J.  M.  Arms  Sheldon,  Mary  Treat,  Mary  E.  Murfeldt,  Annie 
T.  Slosson  in  entomology ;  Elizabeth  G.  Britton  and  Clara 
E.  Cummings  in  cryptogamic  botany;  Sarah  A.  Plummer 
Lemmon,  Katherine  E.  Golden,  Alice  Eastman  and  Almira 
Lincoln  Phelps  in  general  botany ;  Ada  D.  Davidson,  Ella 
P.  Boyd  and  Florence  Bascom  in  geology.  Besides  these, 
special  mention  should  also  be  made  of  Dr.  Julia  W.  Snow 
for  her  work  on  the  microscopical  forms  of  fresh-water 
algae ;  Anna  Botsford  Comstock  for  her  contributions  to  oun 
knowledge  of  microscopic  insects;  Katherine  J.  Bush  fon 
her  monographs  on  shallow  and  deep-water  molusca ;  Har- 
riet Randolph  and  Fannie  E.  Langdon  for  their  studies  on 
worms,  and  Katherine  Foot  for  her  papers  on  cellular 
morphology.  Particularly  notable,  too,  is  the  work  that 
has  been  done  on  marine  invertebrates  by  Mary  J.  Rathbun 
in  the  United  States  National  Museum  and  by  Florence 
Wambaugh  Patterson  in  vegetable  physiology  and  pathol- 
ogy in  the  Department  of  Agriculture  in  Washington. 


WOMEN    IN    THE    NATURAL    SCIENCES    255 

But  much  as  the  women  just  named  deserve  recognition 
jr  their  achievements  in  the  various  branches  of  science  to 
tfrich  they  have  severally  devoted  themselves,  the  one  who 
rill  always  be  specially  remembered,  not  only  for  her  val- 
able  contributions  to  divers  branches  of  natural  science, 
ut  also  for  her  labors  in  behalf  of  higher  female  education 
-particularly  as  president  of  Radcliffe  College — is  Mrs. 
lizabeth  Cary  Agassiz,  the  wife  of  the  celebrated  Swiss- 
jnerican  naturalist,  who  gave  such  an  impetus  to  the 
udy  of  natural  science  in  the  United  States,  and  whose 
ifluence  on  the  general  advancement  of  science  in  all  its 
epartments  has  proved  so  enduring  and  so  far-reaching, 
s  an  inspirer  of  and  collaborator  with  her  gifted  husband, 
Irs.  Agassiz  deserves  a  large  page  in  the  annals  of  science, 
hile  as  an  enthusiastic  student  of  nature  and  as  one  who 
)mmunicated  her  enthusiasm  to  her  students,  and  at  the 
ime  time  held  up  before  them  the  highest  ideals  of  woman- 
ood,  she  is  sure  of  a  portion  of  that  immortality  which  has 
een  decreed  to  her  illustrious  life-partner,  Jean  Louis 
gassiz. 

This  chapter  would  not  be  complete  without  some  refer- 
nce  to  that  large  class  of  women  travelers  who,  directly 
r  indirectly,  have  contributed  so  much  to  the  advancement 
£  the  natural  sciences.    The  gifted  Roumanian  writer  and 

aveler,  Princess  Helena  Kolzoff  Massalsky, — better  known 
nder  her  pseudonym,  Doria  d'Istria, — somewhere  ex- 
resses  the  opinion  that  a  woman  traveler  admirably  sup- 
lements  the  scientific  work  of  the  male  explorer  by  bring- 
lg  to  it  aptitudes  that  the  latter  does  not  possess.  For  she 
otes  many  things  in  nature,  as  well  as  in  the  national  life 
|nd  popular  customs  of  the  countries  which  she  traverses, 
hich  escape  the  more  hebetudinous  perceptions  of  men, 
nd  thus  a  vast  field,  that  would  otherwise  remain  un- 
nown,  is  opened  to  observation  and  critical  study. 

One  of  the  most  noted  travelers  of  her  sex  in  the  nine- 
eenth  century  was  the  famous  Ida  Pfeiffer,  of  Austria. 


256  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

During  the  years  intervening  between  1842  and  1858,  M 
date  of  her  death,  she  traveled  nearly  two  hundred  thoxi 
sand  miles  and,  in  so  doing,  visited  nearly  every  quarter  o: 
the  globe.  When  one  recalls  the  difficulties  and  discom 
forts  of  transportation  in  the  early  part  of  the  last  century 
as  compared  with  our  present  facilities  and  convenience! 
and  bears  in  mind  the  fact  that  her  traveling  expenses  foj 
an  entire  year  were  less  than  those  of  a  Lamartine  or  J 
Chateaubriand  for  a  single  week,  we  must  admit  that  hej 
achievements  were,  indeed,  extraordinary. 

Besides  being  the  author  of  numerous  books  which  hac 
for  many  years  a  great  vogue — books  which,  by  reason  oj 
the  keen  observations  and  the  absolutely  truthful  narrai 
tives  of  their  author,  are  still  of  special  value  to  the  studen*1 
of  geography  and  ethnology — she  made  collections  ill  us 
trative  of  botany,  mineralogy  and  entomology  which  wert 
subsequently  secured  for  the  British  Museum  and  other 
similar  institutions  in  Europe. 

No  one  more  highly  appreciated  Frau  Pfeiffer's  effort 
in  behalf  of  science  than  did  the  illustrious  Alexander  vol 
Humboldt,  whose  friendship  was  one  of  the  greatest  joys  o: 
this  remarkable  woman's  life.  Through  his  recommends 
tion  and  that  of  the  noted  geographer,  Karl  Hitter,  she  w& 
made  an  honorary  member  of  the  Geographical  Society  a; 
Berlin.  Besides  this,  the  King  of  Prussia  conferred  on  ha 
the  gold  medal  for  arts  and  sciences. 

Three  other  women,  all  representatives  of  Great  Britain 
likewise  deserve  notice  for  their  extensive  travels  and  th» 
interesting  and  instructive  accounts  which  they  published 
of  them.  These  are  Constance  Gordon  Cumming,  Isabelli 
Bird  Bishop  and  Amelia  B.  Edwards. 

More  notable  in  many  respects  than  these  three  disj 
tinguished  women  were  Miss  Mary  H.  Kingsley  ancl 
Madame  Octavie  Coudreau.  For  their  contributions  m 
science  and  for  their  daring  adventures  in  savage  lands^ 


WOMEN    IN    THE    NATURAL    SCIENCES    257 

they  have  won  for  themselves  an  unique  position  among 
^omen  explorers. 

j  Miss  Kingsley — the  niece  of  the  well-known  writer  and 
naturalist,  Charles  Kingsley — exhibited  much  of  her  uncle's 
literary  ability  and  love  of  nature.  So  complete  was  her 
intellectual  grasp  of  the  most  difficult  problems,  and  so 
rare  was  her  overflowing  sympathy  for  all  of  God's  crea- 
tures, that  she  was  well  described  as  possessing  "the  brain 
pf  a  man  and  the  heart  of  a  woman." 

In  order  to  get  at  first-hand  information  that  was  neces- 
sary to  complete  a  work  which  her  father,  George  Kingsley, 
had,  owing  to  his  premature  death,  left  unfinished,  she  de- 
termined to  visit  that  part  of  West  Africa  "where  all 
authorities  agreed  that  the  Africans  were  at  their  wildest 
and  worst."  Accompanied  only  by  the  natives,  she  trav- 
elled among  cannibals,  pushed  her  way  through  mangrove 
swamps  and  pestilential  morasses.  She  spent  months  in  a 
canoe  exploring  the  territory  watered  by  the  Calabar  and 
Ogowe  rivers,  often  in  imminent  peril  of  death  from  wild 
inimals  or  wilder  men. 

When  not  studying  the  manners  and  customs  of  the 
aative  tribes,  she  was  hunting  fishes  and  reptiles  in  streams 
and  quagmires  and  collecting  insects  in  the  weird,  grim 
twilight  of  the  equatorial  forest  with  its  inextricable  tangle 
Df  creepers,  its  great  hanging  tapestries  of  vines  and  flow- 
ers, its  myriads  of  bush-ropes,  suspended  from  the  summits 
Df  tall  buttressed  trees,  "some  as  straight  as  plumb  lines, 
Dthers  coiled  round  and  intertwined  among  each  other  until 
&ne  could  fancy  one  was  looking  on  some  mighty  battle 
between  armies  of  gigantic  serpents  that  had  been  arrested 
at  its  height  by  some  mighty  spell." 

The  results  of  Miss  Kingsley 's  wanderings  in  this  dark 
and  uncanny  wilderness  and  among  the  savage  tribes  vis- 
ited by  her  were  her  two  instructive  volumes  entitled 
Travels  in  West  Africa  and  West  African  Studies.  In 
addition  to  these  two  works  from  her  pen  there  are  de- 


258  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

posited  in  the  British  Museum  an  interesting  collection  oi 
insects,  fishes  and  reptiles — many  of  them  new  species  an( 
some  of  them  named  in  her  honor — which  testifies  to  he 
activity  as  a  collector  and  her  enthusiasm  as  a  naturalist 

Her  brilliant  and  useful  career  was  cut  short  in  Cap 
Colony,  whither  she  had  gone  as  an  army  nurse  during  th 
Boer  war.  In  view  of  her  achievements  one  is  not  sur 
prised  to  learn  that  her  countrymen  regarded  her  prema 
ture  taking-off  as  a  national  misfortune.  The  noblest  moi 
ument  to  her  memory  is  "The  Mary  Kingsley  Society  ( 
West  Africa,"  whose  object  is  to  carry  on,  as  far  as  may  b( 
the  beneficent  work  she  began  on  the  West  African  co* 
and  to  accomplish  for  English  rule  in  this  part  of  the 
world  what  the  "Boyal  Asiatic  Society"  has  achieved  for 
British  administration  in  India. 

Madame  Coudreau  is  designated  in  Qui  Etes-Vous — the 
French  Who 's  Who — as  an  exploratrice.    This  well  charac 
terizes  her;  for,  if  not  the  first  woman  explorer  by  pre 
fession,  she  is  certainly  the  most  energetic  and  successful 

Her  first  work  was  in  French  Guiana,  under  instructioi 
from  the  colonial  minister  of  France.  This  was  in  189' 
The  following  year  she  began  the  scientific  exploration 
the  province  of  Para,  in  northern  Brazil,  in  collaboration 
with  her  husband,  Henri  Coudreau,  who  had  previously 
distinguished  himself  by  his  achievements  as  a  writer  and 
as  an  explorer  in  French  Guiana.  The  fruit  of  their  joint 
work  from  1895  to  1899  was  six  quarto  volumes  profusely 
illustrated  by  photographs  which  they  had  taken  and  bm 
carefully  executed  charts  of  the  various  rivers  which  they 
had  explored. 

While  engaged  in  the  exploration  of  the  Trombetas, 
tributary  of  the  Amazon,  Henri  Coudreau  was  taken  seri 
ously  ill,  and,  after  a  few  days'  struggle  against  the  diseas 
with  which  he  was  stricken,  he  expired  in  the  depths  of  th* 
forest  primeval,  where  he  was  buried  by  his  desolate  anc 
disconsolate  widow.     After  such  a  calamity   any   othei 


WOMEN    IN    THE    NATURAL    SCIENCES    259 

woman  would  have  left  the  tropics  at  once  and  returned 
to  her  home  and  friends.  Not  so  Mme.  Coudreau.  With 
matchless  courage  and  determination  she  buried  her  grief 
in  the  work  in  which  her  husband  had  been  so  interested, 
and,  after  completing  the  unfinished  survey,  published  the 
results  of  this  expedition  under  the  title  Voyage  an  Trom- 
hetas. 

Having  completed  this  work,  she  was  engaged  by  the 
states  of  Para  and  Amazonas  to  explore  a  number  of  other 
rivers  in  the  vast  territory  known  as  Amazonia.  This  com- 
mission involved  the  most  arduous  and  dangerous  kind  of 
labor  and  was  a  task  which  few  men  would  have  been 
willing  to  undertake.  It  is  doubtful  if  any  other  woman 
would  have  ventured  on  such  an  expedition,  and  it  is  quite 
certain  that  no  other  one  could  have  been  found  that  was 
so  well  equipped  for  this  herculean  undertaking  or  who 
would  have  carried  it  to  a  more  successful  issue. 

Mme.  Coudreau  was  in  the  service  of  Amazonia,  in  the 
capacity  of  official  explorer,  from  1899  to  1906.  Most  of 
this  time  she  spent  in  a  canoe  on  the  affluents  of  the  Ama- 
zon, or  in  her  tent  in  the  dense  forests  under  the  equator. 
Her  only  companions  were  negroes,  or  Indians,  or  Brazil- 
ian halfbreeds  who  served  her  as  porters,  cooks  and  boat- 
men. Frequently  they  were  in  the  forest  wilds  for  many 
months  at  a  time  and  far  away  from  every  vestige  of  civil- 
ized life.  As  it  was  impossible  to  take  sufficient  provisions 
with  them  to  last  them  during  the  whole  of  their  journey, 
they  had  to  depend  on  wild  fruits  and  such  fish  and  game 
as  they  were  able  to  secure.  Often  they  were  forced  to 
live  for  weeks  at  a  time  on  an  unchanging  diet  of  manioc 
and  tapir  meat. 

But  their  sufferings  were  not  confined  to  hunger  and 
disagreeable — often  indigestible — food.  There  were  the 
heavy  steaming  atmosphere  and  the  broiling  rays  of  a 
superheated  sun,  especially  when  reflected  from  the  mir- 
ror-like surface  of  lake  or  river,  which  were  so  debilitating 


260  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

and  exhausting  that  physical  exertion  of  any  kind  was  at 
times  almost  impossible.  There  were  also  the  torrential 
and  incessant  rains — making  it  impossible  for  them  to  cook 
their  food  or  dry  their  clothing — which  added  to  their 
miseries  whether  in  camp  or  in  their  canoe. 

Great,  however,  as  were  their  trials  on  the  river,  they 
were  trifling  in  comparison  with  those  in  the  woods.  Her* 
locomotion  was  impeded  by  tangled  undergrowth  which 
was  bound  together  by  strands  of  lianas  and  thorny  vines 
which  constituted  an  impenetrable  barrier  until  a  passage 
was  hewn  through  it  with  a  machete.  Under  foot  was 
yielding  morass  which  threatened  to  absorb  them.  Over 
head  were  countless  chigoes,  garapatas  and  fire-ants  whicl 
infested  the  body  or  buried  themselves  in  the  flesh.  Oi 
there  were  clouds  of  mosquitoes  which  gave  no  rest  day 
or  night.  And  worst  of  all  was  the  ever-present  dange] 
of  fever  and  dysentery,  not  to  speak  of  the  dread  diseases 
so  common  in  certain  sections  of  the  equatorial  regions.  It 
was  then  that  Mme.  Coudreau  had  to  act  the  part  of 
physician,  as  well  as  of  a  leader,  even  though  she  was  at 
the  time  such  a  sufferer  herself  that  she  was  barely  able 
to  stand. 

To  make  matters  still  more  difficult  for  Mme.  Coudreau 
her  employees  at  times,  especially  when  under  the  influence 
of  liquor  which  they  contrived  to  obtain  some  way  or  other 
became  mutinous  and  refused  to  accompany  her  to  the  en< 
of  her  journey.  At  other  times  the  expedition  was  haltec 
by  their  fear  of  wild  beasts  or  savage  Indians,  or  by  im 
aginary  evils  of  many  kinds,  suggested  to  them  by  their 
superstitious  minds.  On  such  occasions  Mme.  Coudreai 
never  failed  to  show  herself  a  born  leader  of  men,  for  sh( 
invariably — alone  as  she  was  with  a  crew  who  were  oftei 
half  savages — was  successful  in  suppressing  incipient  rebel 
lion  and  in  restoring  obedience  and  order.1 

i  The  following  dialogue  between  Mme.  Coudreau  and  one  of  h( 
boatmen,   Joas-Felix,   who  was  the   spokesman   of   his   companions 


WOMEN    IN    THE    NATURAL    SCIENCES    261 

Continually  confronted,  as  she  was,  by  such  trials  and 
difficulties,  privations  and  dangers,  one  would  imagine  that 
the  delicately  reared  Frenchwoman  would  have  sought  im- 
mediate release  from  an  engagement  that  necessitated  so 
much  exposure  and  suffering  and  sought  surcease  of  sor- 
row in  the  distractions  and  gaieties  of  pleasure-loving  Paris. 

Nothing,  however,  was  farther  from  her  thoughts.  In- 
trepid and  resourceful,  she  feared  no  danger  and  hesitated 

illustrates  not  only  the  bravery  of  the  daring  explorer,  but  also  the 
pusillanimity  of  her  half-breed  personnel  when  in  the  depths  of  the 
forest  at  night: 

"  'Madam  has  no  fear? ' 

"  'Pear  of  what?' 

'"Of  tigers.' 

"  'No,  it  is  not  of  tigers  that  I  have  fear.' 

"  'Of  Indians?' 

"  'Neither  have  I  fear  of  Indians.' 

"  'Then,  madam,  it  is  something  which  is  in  the  woods,  which 
we  do  not  know,  that  can  harm  us.' 

"  'You  know  very  well  what  frightens  me.  I  am  afraid  that  the 
bats  will  attack  my  chickens  during  the  night.  If  you  hear  them 
making  a  noise  you  must  get  up.' 

"I  laugh  heartily  in  observing  their  astonished  look  and  ask 
myself  how  men  whose  consciences  are  stained  with  many  bloody 
crimes  can  have  fear  here.   Joas-Felix  gives  me  the  explanation: 

' '  '  Madam  makes  game  of  us.  None  the  less,  madam,  I  am  a  man 
in  the  city  and  in  the  savanna.  With  my  poignard  and  machete  I 
fear  nothing,  neither  man  nor  beast.  But  here,  madam,  where  every- 
thing is  dark,  even  in  the  daytime;  where  an  enemy  may  be  lying 
in  wait  for  us  behind  every  tree;  it  is  not  the  same  thing.  It  would 
be  impossible  for  me  to  live  in  the  forest.  One  cannot  see  far 
enough  in  it.' 

"Now  I  understand  better  their  terror.  The  mysterious  depth 
of  the  virgin  forest  impresses  them.  The  opaque  obscurity  of  the 
night  in  the  underwood  contrasts  too  strongly  with  the  moonlit 
savanna  where  they  have  been  reared.  The  low  and  sombre  vault 
of  the  woods  oppresses  them  and  they  imagine  they  are  going  to  be 
crushed.  They  lose  their  heads  and  see  in  every  tree  a  phantom 
enemy.  To  reason  with  them  is  useless,  for  when  fear  takes  pos- 
session of  them,  there  is  nothing  to  be  done."  Voyage  an  May- 
curU,  p.  127. 


262  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

before  no  difficulty,  however  great.  As  an  explorer  she 
was  as  venturesome  as  Crevaux  and  as  conscientious  as  La 
Condamine.  Like  them,  who  were  both  her  countrymen, 
she  spent  many  years  of  her  life  in  the  equinoctial  regions, 
and,  like  them,  she  contributed  immensely  to  our  knowledge 
of  the  Land  of  the  Southern  Cross. 

Never  did  the  tropics  have  a  greater  fascination  for 
anyone  than  for  Mme.  Coudreau.  During  the  twelve  years 
she  spent  there,  exploring  its  rivers  and  traversing  its 
interminable  forests,  the  spell  of  Amazonia  was  ever  upon 
her  and  was  never  broken,  even  for  a  moment. 

"I  have,"  she  writes,  "loved  everything  in  Amazonia, 
the  great  majestic  woodland  and  the  mysterious  virgin 
forest,  the  beautiful  rivers  with  their  traitorous  waters  and 
thundering  cataracts,  the  suffocating  air  and  the  perfumed 
breeze,  the  burning  sun  and  the  sweet  freshness  of  night, 
the  impressive  voice  of  the  wind  among  the  trees  and  the 
torrential  rain.  And,  contrary  to  the  usual  custom  of  man 
of  bringing  everything  under  his  domination,  it  is  I  who 
have  become  a  captive  of  this  savage  life  which  I  love,  and 
have  permitted  it  to  take  possession  of  all  my  soul  and  all 
my  will.' « 

Elsewhere  she  declares:  "In  the  solitude  of  the  virgin 
forest  I  am  calm,  tranquil,  experience  no  ennui  and  am 
almost  merry.  When  I  am  obliged  to  leave  the  great  wood- 
land the  power  to  struggle  grows  less  in  me.  I  become  of 
an  excessive  sensibility.  I  feel  more  keenly  life's  blows. 
I  am  not  armed  for  elbowing  my  way  and  making  a  place 
for  myself  in  the  sunshine.  I  neither  love  nor  understand 
anything  except  my  virgin  forest.  There,  indeed,  I  suffer 
from  the  inclemency  of  the  weather,  from  hunger,  from 
sickness;  but  these  are  only  physical  sufferings  and  are 
soon  forgotten,  while  moral  and  interior  pains,  on  the  con- 
trary, are  ineradicable. ' ' 2 

i  Voyage  au  Maycuru,  p.  1,  Paris,  1903. 

2  Voyage  au  Bio  Curud,  p.  85;  Paris,  1903. 


WOMEN    IN    THE    NATURAL    SCIENCES    263 

And  still  again  she  tells  us:  "The  solitude  of  the  virgin 
forest  has  become  a  necessity  for  me ;  it  attracts  me  by  its 
jmysterious  silence,  and  only  in  the  great  woods  have  I  the 
[impression  of  being  at  home. ' '  * 

Can  we  wonder  that  such  an  ardent  lover  of  Nature  and 
such  a  strenuous  votary  of  science  was  able  to  forget  herself 
in  her  work  and  was  able,  notwithstanding  her  toils  and 
her  sufferings,  to  produce  six  quarto  volumes  of  reports, 
in  as  many  years,  on  the  unexplored  regions  which  she  had 
so  carefully  surveyed  and  charted?  Can  we  be  surprised 
that  her  labors  received  due  recognition  from  learned  soci- 
eties in  both  the  New  and  the  Old  World,  and  that  she 
was  acclaimed  as  an  explorer  who  had  rendered  distinct 
service  to  the  cause  of  natural  science,  as  well  as  to  geog- 
raphy ? 2 

When  we  recall  the  labors  of  this  lone  daughter  of 

i  Ibid.,  p.  1. 

2  In  order  that  the  reader  may  realize  the  immense  extent  of 
territory  that  was  covered  by  this  strenuous  woman's  explorations, 
during  the  twelve  years  she  spent  in  Amazonia,  it  suffices  to  give 
the  titles  of  her  books,  all  of  which  are  profusely  illustrated  by 
photographs  taken  by  herself  and  by  accurate  charts  of  rivers,  whose 
courses  were  previously  almost  unknown. 

The  books  written  in  collaboration  with  her  husband  are  Voyage 
au  Tapajos,  Voyage  au  Xingu,  Voyage  au  Tocantins- Araguaya,  Voy- 
age au  Itaooca  et  d  VEtacayuna,  Voyage  entre  Tocantins  et  Xingu, 
et  Voyage  au  Yamunda. 

The  books  written  by  Mme.  Coudreau  after  her  husband's  death 
are  Voyage  au  Tromoetas,  Voyage  au  Cumind,  Voyage  au  Mio  Curud, 
Voyage  d  la  Mapuerd  and  Voyage  au  Maycuru. 

When  one  remembers  that  many  of  the  watercourses  here  named 
would  be  considered  large  rivers  outside  of  South  America;  that, 
notwithstanding  their  countless  rapids  and  waterfalls,  necessitating 
numberless  portages,  Mme.  Coudreau  explored  all  these  rivers  from 
their  embouchures  to  as  near  their  sources  as  the  water  would  carry 
her  rude  dugouts,  we  can  form  some  idea  of  the  miles  she  traveled 
and  of  the  stupendous  labor  that  was  involved  in  making  these  long 
journeys  in  the  sweltering  and  debilitating  and  insect-laden  atmos- 
phere of  the  Amazon  basin. 


364  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

France  in  the  wilds  of  the  tropics,  with  no  one  to  communi- 
cate with  except  her  half-civilized  servants  and  boatmen, 
we  instinctively  hark  back  to  days  not  long  past  and  esti- 
mate the  enormous  progress  women  have  made  in  social 
and  intellectual  freedom  within  but  a  few  decades. 

Owing  to  the  policy  of  repression  which  so  long  pre- 
vailed regarding  the  intellectual  efforts  of  women,  and  the 
social  obstacles  which  prevented  them  from  publicly  ac- 
knowledging the  offspring  of  their  genius,  women  like  the 
Bronte  sisters,  George  Sand  and  George  Eliot  were  com- 
pelled to  conceal  their  identity  under  male  designations. 
Because  it  was  considered  immodest  for  a  woman  to  appear 
before  the  public  as  an  author,  Lady  Nairne,  after  Burns, 
the  most  popular  song  writer  in  Scotland,  felt  obliged  to 
keep  secret  the  authorship  of  her  beautiful  poems. 

Similarly,  family  honor  made  it  incumbent  on  Fanny 
Mendelssohn  to  refrain  from  publishing  her  musical  com- 
positions under  her  own  name.  Accordingly,  they  ap- 
peared along  with  those  of  her  brother  Felix,  and  so  similar 
are  they  in  color  and  sentiment  to  his  own  productions  that 
they  are  indistinguishable  from  them,  unless  the  author's 
signature  be  attached.  To  satisfy  an  inane  public  opinion, 
they  long  contributed  "to  swell  the  volume  of  her  brother's 
fame,"  and  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  some  of  them 
still  appear  under  his  name  at  the  present  day. 

Yes,  truly,  when  one  recalls  these  and  similar  facts,  one 
cannot  help  exclaiming :  l '  What  a  marvelous  change  in  the 
attitude  of  the  world  toward  women  within  the  memories 
of  those  still  living!"  Women  like  Miss  Ormerod,  Miss 
Kingsley  and  Mme.  Coudreau  would  have  been  ostracized  if 
they  had  dared  to  attempt,  in  the  days  of  Lady  Nairne,  the 
Bronte  sisters  and  Fanny  Mendelssohn,  what  they  may 
now  do  not  only  without  censure  but  without  exciting  more 
than  passing  comment.  The  ban  has  been  lifted  from 
what  was  for  ages  tabu  for  women,  and  the  sphere  of  their 
intellectual  activities  is  now  almost  coextensive  with  that 


WOMEN    IN    THE    NATURAL    SCIENCES    265 

of  the  sterner  sex.  Not  only  does  society  no  longer  point 
the  finger  of  scorn  at  the  woman  naturalist  or  the  woman 
explorer,  bnt  it  showers  honors  on  her  while  living  and 
erects  monuments  to  her  memory  when  dead.  A  great 
change,  indeed,  and  one  long  and  ardently  desired.  Verily, 
tempora  mutantur,  nos  et  mutamur  in  Mis. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
WOMEN  IN  MEDICINE   AND   SURGERY 

As  woman  was  the  first  nurse,  so  was  she  also  the  first 
practitioner  of  the  healing  art.  Among  savages  the  world 
over  it  is  the  women,  in  the  great  majority  of  cases,  who 
have  the  care  of  the  sick  and  wounded,  and  who,  by  reason 
of  their  superior  knowledge  of  simples  for  the  cure  of 
diseases,  occupy  the  position  of  doctors.  In  certain  parts 
of  the  uncivilized  world  there  are,  it  is  true,  shamans  or 
medicine  men;  but  these  are  conjurers  or  exorcists,  who 
profess  to  expel  disease,  or  rather  the  evil  spirits  causing 
the  disease,  by  sorcery  or  incantation,  rather  than  physi- 
cians who  essay  to  cure  ailments  or  relieve  suffering  by  the 
use  of  substances  which  experience  has  showed  to  possess 
remedial  properties.  In  a  word,  the  shaman  is  a  kind  of  a 
religious  functionary  who  imposes  on  the  ignorance  of  his 
tribe  and  who  holds  his  position  by  the  fear  he  excites,  and 
not  by  any  knowledge  he  possesses  of  the  healing  art.  It 
was  the  same,  we  may  believe,  in  the  early  history  of  our 
race — women,  and  not  men,  were  the  first  physicians;  and 
they  were  also  most  probably  the  first  surgeons. 

According  to  Greek  mythology,  the  god  of  the  medical 
art  was  iEsculapius,  a  male ;  but  his  six  daughters,  as  an- 
tiquity beautifully  expressed  it,  were  not  only  goddesses 
but  were  also  medical  mistresses — artifices  medici — of  suf- 
fering humanity.  Of  these  Hygiea  was  specially  distin- 
guished as  the  goddess  of  health,  or,  rather,  as  the  con- 
server  of  good  health,  while  Panacea  was  invoked  as  the 
restorer  of  health  after  it  had  been  impaired  or  lost. 

266 


WOMEN    IN    MEDICINE    AND    SURGERY    267 

One  of  the  most  beautiful  pictures  in  the  Iliad  is  that 
representing  the  daughter  of  Augea,  King  of  the  Epei, 
caring  for  the  wounded  and  suffering  Greeks  on  the  plain 
before  Troy.    She  was: 

"His  eldest  born,  hight  Agam'ede,  with  golden  hair, 
A  leech  was  she,  and  well  she  knew  all  herbs  on  ground  that 
grew." 

Nothing  deterred  by  the  din  of  battle  around  her,  she  pro- 
vided cordial  potions  for  the  disabled  warrior  and  prepared 

"The  gentle  bath  and  washed  their  gory  wounds." 

What  a  beautiful  prototype  of  another  ministering  angel 
in  the  same  land  nearly  thirty  centuries  later,  amid  similar 
scenes  of  suffering — of  one  who,  though  unsung  by  immor- 
tal bard,  the  world  will  never  let  die — the  courageous,  the 
self-sacrificing  Florence  Nightingale. 

That  there  were  in  Greece  from  the  earliest  times  numer- 
ous women  possessed  of  a  high  degree  of  medical  skill  is 
evidenced  by  many  of  the  ancient  writers.  They  were 
what  we  would  call  medical  herbalists,  and  not  a  few  of 
them  exhibited  a  natural  genius  for  determining  the  cur- 
ative virtues  of  rare  plants  and  a  remarkable  sagacity  in 
preparing  from  them  juices,  infusions  and  soothing  ano- 
dynes. Others  there  were  who,  in  addition  to  evincing  the 
cunning  of  leechcraft  in  the  therapeutic  art,  were  distin- 
guished for  nimble  hands  in  treating  painful  lesions  and 
festering  sores,  and  who,  when  occasion  required,  were 
experts  in  "quickly  drawing  the  barb  from  the  flesh  and 
healing  the  wound  of  the  soldier.' ' 

In  the  Odyssey  special  mention  is  made  of  the  surpassing 
expertness  of  the  Egyptian  female  leech,  Polydamna,  whose 
name  signifies  the  subduer  of  many  diseases.  The  land  of 
the  Nile,  the  poet  tells  us,  "teems  with  drugs/ '  and 

"There  ev'ry  man  in  skill  medicinal 
Excels,  for  these  are  sons  of  Paeon  all," 


268  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

In  this  favored  cradle  of  civilization,  to  which  Greece  owed 
so  much  of  its  knowledge  and  culture,  there  were  many 
women  who,  like  Polydamna,  achieved  distinction  in  the 
healing  art,  and  many,  too,  we  have  reason  to  think,  who 
communicated  their  knowledge  to  their  sisters  in  the  fair 
land  of  Hellas. 

But  not  only  were  there  in  Greece  women  physicians  like 
Agamede,  who  were  noted  for  their  general  medicinal 
knowledge  and  practice,  but  there  were  also  others  who 
made  a  specialty  of  treating  ailments  peculiar  to  their  own 
sex.  This  we  learn  from  a  passage  in  the  Hippolytus  of 
Euripides,  wherein  the  nurse  of  Phaedra  addressed  the 
suffering  queen  in  the  following  words : 

"If  under  pains 
Thou  labor,  such  as  may  not  be  revealed, 
To  succor  thee  thy  female  friends  are  here. 
But  if  the  other  sex  may  know  thy  sufferings 
Let  the  physician  try  his  healing  art." 

More  positive  information,  however,  is  afforded  us  by 
the  ancient  Eoman  author  Hyginus,  who,  in  writing  of  the 
Greek  maiden,  Agnodice,  tells  us  how  the  medical  profes- 
sion was  legalized  for  all  the  free-born  women  of  Athens. 
Instead  of  a  literal  translation  of  Hyginus,  the  version  of 
his  story  is  given  in  the  quaint  language  of  one  Mrs.  Cel- 
leor,  a  noted  midwife  in  the  reign  of  James  II. 

' '  Among  the  subtile  Athenians, ' '  writes  Mrs.  Celleor,  ' '  a 
law  at  one  time  forbade  women  to  study  or  practice  medi- 
cine or  physick  on  pain  of  death,  which  law  continued 
some  time,  during  which  many  women  perished,  both  in 
child-bearing  and  by  private  diseases,  their  modesty  not 
permitting  them  to  admit  of  men  either  to  deliver  or  cure 
them.  But  God  finally  stirred  up  the  spirit  of  Agnodice,  a 
noble  maid,  to  pity  the  miserable  condition  of  her  own  sex, 
and  hazard  her  life  to  help  them ;  which,  to  enable  herself 
to  do,  she  apparelled  her  like  a  man  and  became  the  scholar 


WOMEN    IN    MEDICINE    AND    SURGERY    £69 

of  Hierophilos,  the  most  learned  physician  of  the  time; 
and,  having  learnt  the  art,  she  found  out  a  woman  that  had 
long  languished  under  private  diseases,  and  made  proffer 
of  her  service  to  cure  her,  which  the  sick  person  refused, 
thinking  her  to  be  a  man ;  but,  when  Agnodice  discovered 
that  she  was  a  maid,  the  woman  committed  herself  into  her 
hands,  who  cured  her  perfectly ;  and  after  her  many  others, 
with  the  like  skill  and  industry,  so  that  in  a  short  time  she 
became  the  successful  and  beloved  physician  of  the  whole 
sex." 

I  When  it  became  known  that  Agnodice  was  a  woman  ' '  she 
was  like  to  be  condemned  to  death  for  transgressing  the 
law — which,  coming  to  the  ears  of  the  noble  women,  they 
ran  before  the  Areopagites,  and,  the  house  being  encom- 
passed by  most  women  of  the  city,  the  ladies  entered  before 
the  judges  and  told  them  they  would  no  longer  account 
them  for  husbands  and  friends,  but  for  cruel  enemies,  that 
condemned  her  to  death  who  restored  to  them  their  health, 
protesting  they  would  all  die  with  her  if  she  were  put  to 
death.  This  caused  the  magistrates  to  disannul  the  law 
and  make  another,  which  gave  gentlewomen  leave  to  study 
and  practice  all  parts  of  physick  to  their  own  sex,  giving 
large  stipends  to  those  that  did  it  well  and  carefully.  And 
there  were  many  noble  women  who  studied  that  practice 
and  taught  it  publicly  in  their  schools  as  long  as  Athens 
flourished  in  learning.,,1 

After  the  time  of  Agnodice  many  Greek  women  won  dis- 
tinction in  medicine,  some  as  practitioners  in  the  healing 
art,  others  as  writers  on  medical  subjects.  Nor  were  their 
activities  confined  to  the  land  of  Hellas.  They  were  also 
found  succoring  the  infirm  and  instructing  the  poor  and 
ignorant  in  Italy,  Egypt  and  Asia  Minor.  Among  these 
was  Theano,  the  wife  of  Pythagoras,  who,  after  her  hus- 
band's death,  assumed  charge  of  his  school  of  philosophy, 

i  Quoted  in  Medical  Women,  p.  11,  by  Sophia  Jex-Blake,  M.  D., 
Edinburgh,  1886.  Cf.  Hyginus,  Fabularum  Liber,  No.  274. 


$70  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

and  who,  like  her  husband  and  teacher,  was  distinguished 
for  her  attainments  in  medicine.  The  names  of  many- 
others  occur  in  the  pages  of  Hippocrates,  Galen  and  Pliny ; 
and  frequent  references  are  made  to  the  works  and  pre- 
scriptions of  women  doctors  who  enjoyed  more  than  ordi- 
nary celebrity  during  their  time.  Of  these  female  prac- 
titioners many  confined  their  practice  to  the  diseases  of 
women  and  children,  while  others  excelled  in  surgery  and 
pharmacy,  as  well  as  in  general  medical  practice. 

Among  the  medical  women  whom  antiquity  especially 
honored,  particularly  during  the  Greco-Roman  period,  were 
Origenia,  Aspasia — not  the  famous  wife  of  Pericles — and 
Cleopatra,  who  was  not,  however,  as  is  often  asserted,  the 
ill-fated  queen  of  Egypt.  Likewise  deserving  of  special 
mention  was  Metradora,  of  whom  there  is  still  preserved  in 
Florence  a  manuscript  work  on  the  diseases  of  women,1 
and  Antiochis,  to  whom  her  admiring  countrymen  erected 
a  statue  bearing  the  following  inscription:  "Antiochis, 
daughter  of  Diodotos  of  Tlos ;  the  council  and  the  commune 
of  the  city  of  Tlos,  in  appreciation  of  her  medical  ability, 
erected  at  their  own  expense  this  statue  in  her  honor. ' f 

Pliny,  the  naturalist,  felicitates  the  Romans  on  having 
been  for  nearly  six  hundred  years  free  from  the  brood  of 
doctors.  These  he  does  not  hesitate  to  berate  roundly.  His 
statement  regarding  the  non-existence  of  physicians,  it 
must  be  observed,  is  somewhat  exaggerated.  It  is  true  that 
during  the  first  five  centuries  there  were  no  professional 
doctors  who  lived  entirely  on  their  practice.  There  were, 
however,  many  men  who  had  by  long  experience  gained  an 

i  Charles  Daremberg,  who,  at  the  time  of  his  death  in  1872,  was 
professor  of  the  history  of  medicine  in  the  Faculty  of  Medicine  in 
Paris,  had  the  intention  of  publishing  this  work  TLepl  tup  yvpauxaiwv 
va^wv. — On  the  Diseases  of  Women — but  his  premature  death  pre- 
vented him  from  executing  his  project.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that 
some  one  else,  interested  in  woman's  medical  work,  may  at  an 
early  date  give  this  production  to  the  public  with  an  appropriate 
commentary. 


<$-<**  c9-^  v 


if 


WOMEN    IN    MEDICINE    AND    SURGERY    271 

extensive  knowledge  of  drugs  and  simples,  and  who  were 
able  to  dress  wounds  and  treat  diseases  with  considerable 
success. 

The  first  Greek  freeman  to  practice  medicine  in  Rome 
was  one  Archagatos,  about  two  centuries  B.C.  He  was  soon 
followed  by  one  of  his  countrymen  named  Asclepiades. 
These  two  soon  built  up  a  great  reputation  as  successful 
practitioners,  and  were  held  in  the  highest  esteem  by  the 
people  of  Rome.  In  consequence  of  this  and  of  the  favor- 
able conditions  offered  foreigners  for  the  practice  of  the 
healing  art,  there  was  soon  a  large  influx  of  physicians  and 
surgeons  from  Greece,  not  only  into  Rome  but  also  into 
other  parts  of  Italy. 

Not  long  after  the  arrival  of  Greek  doctors  in  the  capital 
of  the  Roman  world  we  learn  of  certain  women  physicians 
in  Rome  who  were  held  in  high  repute.  Among  these  were 
Victoria  and  Leoparda,  both  mentioned  by  the  medical 
writer,  Theodorus  Priscianus.  To  Victoria,  Priscianus 
dedicates  the  third  book  of  his  Berum  Medicarum,  and  in 
the  preface  to  this  book  he  refers  to  her  as  one  who  has 
not  only  an  accurate  knowledge  of  medicine,  but  also  as 
one  who  is  a  keen  observer  and  experienced  practitioner. 

The  word  medica,  which  occurs  in  Latin  authors  of  the 
classical  period,  testifies  to  the  existence  of  the  woman  doc- 
tor as  early  as  the  age  of  Augustus. 

But  the  most  important  documents  bearing  on  women 
physicians,  not  only  in  the  city  of  Rome  but  also  in  Italy, 
Gaul  and  the  Iberian  peninsula,  are  the  large  body  of 
epigraphic  monuments  which  have  recently  been  brought  to 
light,  and  which  prove  beyond  all  doubt  that  women  were 
not  only  obstetricians,  but  that  they  were  successful  prac- 
titioners in  the  entire  field  of  medical  art.  Thus  a  funeral 
tablet  found  in  Portugal  tells  of  a  woman  who  was  a  most 
excellent  physician — medica  optima — while  another  de- 
scribes the  deceased  not  only  as  a  woman  incomparable  for 


272  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

her  virtues,  but  also  as  a  mistress  of  medical  science, 
antistes  discipline  in  medicina  fuit. 

The  Greek  word  for  medica — iatromaia — occasionally- 
found  in  some  of  the  inscriptions,  seems  to  refer  specially 
to  women  of  Greek  origin  or  birth.  This  is  particularly- 
true  of  a  monument  erected  to  one  Valiae,  who  is  designated 
as  Kalista  iatromaia — the  best  doctor.1 

Among  the  many  women  who  became  converts  to  Chris- 
tianity during  the  early  ages  of  the  church  a  goodly  num- 
ber were  physicians.  Unfortunately,  our  information  re- 
specting these  votaries  of  the  healing  art  is  not  as  complete 
as  we  could  wish.  One  of  the  most  noted  of  them  is  St. 
Theodosia,  whose  name  is  given  in  the  Roman  martyrology 
for  the  twenty-ninth  of  May.  She  was  the  mother  of  the 
martyr,  St.  Procopius,  and  was  distinguished  for  her 
knowledge  of  medicine  and  surgery,  both  of  which  she 
practiced  in  Rome  with  the  most  signal  success.  She  died 
a  heroic  death  by  the  sword  during  the  persecution  of 
Diocletian. 

Another  woman  who  was  as  eminent  for  her  knowledge 
of  medicine  as  for  her  holiness  of  life  was  St.  Nicerata, 
who  lived  in  Constantinople  during  the  reign  of  the  em- 
peror Arcadius.  She  is  said  to  have  cured  St.  John  Chrys- 
ostom  of  an  affection  of  the  stomach  from  which  he  was 
a  sufferer. 

To  the  Roman  lady  Fabiola,  remarkable  as  the  daughter 
of  one  of  the  most  illustrious  patrician  families  of  Rome, 
but  more  remarkable  for  her  sanctity  and  her  boundless 
charity  toward  the  poor,  was  due  the  erection  of  the  first 
hospital — a  noble  structure  which  she  founded  in  Ostia,  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Tiber,  which  was  then  the  port  of  entry 
to  the  capital  of  the  Roman  empire.  Here  the  noble  matron 
received  the  poor  and  suffering  from  all  parts,  and  did 

i  Cf .  Hertzen  et  Eossi  Inscriptiones  Urbis  Bomce  Latinw,  p.  1245, 
No.  9478,  Berlin,  1882. 


WOMEN    IN    MEDICINE    AND    SURGERY    273 

everything  in  her  power  to  afford  them  succor  in  their 
wants  and  infirmities. 

It  is  difficult  for  us  now,  when  hospitals  and  charitable 
institutions  of  all  kinds  are  so  common,  to  understand  what 
an  innovation  Fabiola's  unheard-of  institution  was  consid- 
ered by  her  contemporaries.  For  her  method  of  treating 
the  needy  and  the  suffering  was  as  different  from  that 
which  had  hitherto  obtained  as  were  the  debasing  lessons 
of  heathendom  from  the  elevating  precepts  of  the  Gospels. 

No  wonder  that  the  news  of  this  godlike  work  was  soon 
wafted  to  the  uttermost  bounds  of  the  earth;  that,  in  the 
words  of  St.  Jerome,  ' '  summer  should  announce  in  Britain 
what  Egypt  and  Parthia  had  learned  in  the  spring."  No 
wonder  that  the  same  eloquent  hermit  of  Bethlehem  should 
proclaim  the  foundress  of  this  home  of  the  indigent  and 
the  afflicted  to  be  "the  glory  of  the  church,  the  astonish- 
ment of  the  Gentiles,  the  mother  of  the  poor  and  the  con- 
solation of  the  saints. ' '  No  wonder  that,  in  contemplating 
tier  countless  acts  of  charity,  he  should  ignore  the  fact  that 
Fabiola  was  a  daughter  of  the  Fabii  and  a  descendant  of 
the  renowned  Quintus  Maximus,  who,  by  his  sage  counsel, 
iad  saved  his  country  from  her  enemies,  and  that,  recalling 
the  words  of  Virgil,  he  should  declare :  "  If  I  had  a  hun- 
Ired  tongues  and  a  hundred  mouths  and  iron  lungs,  I 
should  not  be  able  to  enumerate  all  the  maladies  to  which 
Fabiola  gave  the  most  prodigal  care  and  tenderness — to  the 
extent  even  of  making  the  poor  who  were  in  health  envy 
the  good  fortune  of  those  who  were  sick. ' n  No  wonder  that 
Fabiola's  funeral,  which  brought  together  the  whole  of 
Rome,  was  more  like  an  apotheosis  than  the  transfer  of  the 
remains  of  the  deceased  to  their  last  resting-place,  and  that 
Jerome  should  declare,  "the  glory  of  Furius  and  Papirius 

i  * '  Non  mihi  si  linguae  centum,  oraque  centum,  f  errea  vox  .  .  . 
>mnia  morborum  percurrere  nomina  possim  quae  Fabiola  in  tanta 
miserorum  refregeria  commutavit  ut  multi  pauperum  sani  languenti- 
bus  inviderent. ' '  Epistola  ad  Oceanum. 


274  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

and  Scipio  and  Pompey,  when  they  triumphed  over  th< 
Gauls,  the  Sammites,  Numantia  and  Pontus"  was  less  thai 
that  which  was  spontaneously  accorded  to  Fabiola,  th( 
solace  of  the  sick  and  the  comforter  of  the  distressed.  For 
she  had  in  her  hospital  at  Ostia  established  a  type  of  insti- 
tution that  was  to  effect  more  for  ameliorating  the  con- 
dition of  suffering  humanity  than  anything  that  had  before 
been  dreamed  of;  something  that  was  to  contribute  im- 
mensely to  the  efforts  of  physicians  and  surgeons  in  mini- 
mizing the  sad  ravages  of  wounds  and  disease;  something 
whose  beneficent  effects  were  to  be  felt  through  the  cen- 
turies and  in  every  part  of  the  world  down  to  the  wards  of 
the  military  hospital  at  Scutari,  guarded  by  the  watchful 
eyes  of  Florence  Nightingale,  and  to  the  leper-tenanted 
lazarettos,  blessed  by  the  ministrations  of  Father  Damien 
and  the  Sisters  of  Charity,  on  the  desolate  shores  of  plague- 
stricken  Molokai. 

After  the  fall  of  the  Roman  empire  and  through  the 
long  period  of  the  Middle  Ages,  when  the  monasteries  and 
convents  were  almost  the  only  centers  of  learning  and  cul- 
ture for  the  greater  part  of  Europe,  the  practice  of  medi- 
cine was  to  a  great  extent  in  the  hands  of  monks  and  nuns. 
For  every  religious  house  was  then  a  hospital  as  well  as  a 
school,  a  place  where  drugs  and  ointments  were  com- 
pounded and  distributed,  as  well  as  a  place  where  manu- 
scripts were  transcribed  and  illuminated.  At  a  time  when 
there  were  but  few  professional  physicians  and  when  these 
few  were  widely  separated  from  one  another,  the  only 
places  where  the  poor  could  always  be  sure  to  find  free 
medical  treatment  as  well  as  abundant  alms  were  those 
sanctuaries  of  knowledge  and  charity  where  the  love  of  i 
one's  neighbor  was  never  lost  sight  of  in  the  love  of  sci-j 
ence  and  literature.  And  during  this  time,  too,  the  care 
of  the  sick  was  regarded  as  a  duty  incumbent  on  everyone, 
but  particularly  on  those  devoted  to  the  service  of  God  in 
religion.    It  was  considered,  above  all,  as  a  duty  devolving 


WOMEN    IN    MEDICINE    AND    SURGERY    275 

on  women,  especially  on  the  lady  in  the  castle  and  on  the 
nun  in  the  convent. 

The  old  romance  of  Sir  Isumbras  gives  us  a  charming 
picture  of  the  nuns  of  long  ago  receiving  the  wounded 
knight  and  ministering  unto  him  until  he  was  made  whole 
and  strong,  as  witness  the  following  verses : 

"The  nonnes  of  him  they  were  full  fayne, 
For  that  he  had  the  Saracenes  slayne 

And  those  haythene  houndes. 
And  of  his  paynnes  sare  ganne  them  rewe. 
like  a  day  they  made  salves  new 
And  laid  them  till  his  woundes; 
They  gave  him  metis  and  drynkis  lythe, 
And  heled  the  knyghte  wunder  swythe." 

So  universally  during  mediaeval  times  was  the  healing  art 
considered  as  pertaining  to  woman's  calling  that  it  became 
a  part  of  the  curriculum  in  convent  schools;  and  no  girl's 
education  was  considered  complete  unless  she  had  an  ele- 
mentary knowledge  of  medicine  and  of  that  part  of  surgery 
which  deals  with  the  treatment  of  wounds.  For  during 
those  troublous  times  a  woman  was  liable  to  be  called  upon 
at  any  time  to  nurse  the  sick  wayfarer  or  dress  the  wounds 
of  those  who  had  been  maimed  in  battle  or  in  the  tourney. 

Illustrations  of  these  facts  are  found  in  many  of  the 
romances  and  fabliaux  of  the  Middle  Ages.  Thus,  when  a 
sick  or  wounded  man  was  given  hospitality  in  a  chateau 
or  castle  it  was  not  the  seigneur,  but  his  wife  and  daugh- 
ters, as  being  better  versed  in  medicine  and  surgery,  who 
acted  as  nurses  and  doctors  and  took  entire  charge  of  the 
patient  until  his  recovery. 

In  the  exquisite  little  story  of  Aucassin  et  Nicolette,  the 
heroine  is  pictured  as  setting  the  dislocated  shoulder  of 
her  lover  in  the  following  simple  but  touching  language: 

"Nicolette  searched  his  hurt,  and  perceived  that  his 
shoulder  was  out  of  joint.     She  handled  it  so  deftly  with 


276  .WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

her  white  hands,  and  used  such  skillful  surgery  that,  by 
the  grace  of  God,  who  loveth  all  true  lovers,  the  shoulder 
came  back  to  its  place.  Then  she  plucked  flowers  and 
fresh  grasses  and  green  leafage,  and  bound  them  tightly 
about  the  setting  with  the  hem  torn  from  her  shift,  and 
he  was  altogether  healed/ ' 

And  in  the  mediaeval  Latin  poem,  Waltharius,  written 
by  a  German  monk,  Ekkehard,  reference  is  made  to  a 
sanguinary  contest  in  which  one  of  the  combatants  falls  to 
the  earth  seriously  wounded.  Seeing  this,  Alpharides,  in 
a  loud  voice,  summons  a  young  girl,  who  timidly  comes  for- 
ward and  dresses  the  unfortunate  man's  wound.1 

Still  more  to  our  purpose  is  a  passage  from  the  famous 
epic  poem,  Tristan  and  Isolde,  written  by  Godfrey  of  Stras- 
ourg,  in  which  Isolde,  accompanied  by  her  mother  and 
cousin,  is  represented  as  administering  restoratives  to 
Tristan,  who  had  fallen  exhausted  after  his  combat  with 
the  dragon.  It  shows  that  women,  in  accompanying  an 
army  to  the  field  of  battle,  always  went  provided  with 
bandages  and  medicaments  for  dressing  wounds  and  frac- 
tured limbs.  Similarly  Angelica,  in  Orlando  Furioso,  and 
Ermina,  in  Jerusalem  Delivered,  are  portrayed  as  surgeons 
with  deftness  of  hand  and  leeches  with  rare  knowledge  and 
skill. 

The  frequent  introduction  of  women  doctors  into  the 
poems  and  romances  of  the  Middle  Ages  would  of  itself, 
if  other  evidence  were  wanting,  suffice  to  show  what  an 
important  role  women  played  in  medicine  and  surgery  at 
a  time  when,  in  many  parts  of  Europe,  women  were  far 
better  educated  and  far  more  cultured  than  men — "when 
the  knights  and  barons  of  France  and  Germany  were  in- 
clined to  look  upon  reading  and  writing  as  unmanly  and 
almost  degrading  accomplishments,  fit  only  for  priests  or 

i  Haec  inter  timidam  revocat  clamore  puellam  Alpharides,  veniens 
qusB  saucia  quasque  ligavit. 

— Ekkehardi  Primi  Waltharius,  Berlin,  1873. 


WOMEN    IN    MEDICINE    AND    SURGERY    277 

monks,  and  especially  for  priests  or  monks  not  too  well 
born."1 

In  the  instances  just  quoted,  as  well  as  those  mentioned 
by  Homer  and  Euripides,  the  writers  do  no  more  than 
faithfully  reflect  conditions  which  then  obtained,  and 
truthfully  report  what  were  the  occupations  of  women 
when  their  status  was  so  different  from  what  it  is  to-day. 
But,  fortunately,  we  do  not  have  to  rely  on  works  of  the 
imagination  for  our  knowledge  respecting  the  women  prac- 
titioners of  the  healing  art,  either  during  the  Homeric 
period  or  during  that  which  intervened  between  the  down- 
fall of  Rome  and  the  dawn  of  the  Renaissance.  For  the 
history  of  medicine  during  mediaeval  times  affords  too  many 
examples  of  women  who  became  famous  for  their  knowl- 
edge of  medicine,  as  well  as  for  their  success  in  surgical 
and  medical  practice,  to  leave  any  doubt  about  the  matter. 
Besides  this,  we  have  still  the  writings  of  many  of  these 
woman,  and  are  thus  able  to  judge  of  their  competency  in 
those  branches  of  knowledge  on  which  they  shed  so  great 
luster. 

One  of  the  most  noted  of  them  was  the  Benedictine  ab- 
bess, St.  Hildegard,  of  Bingen  on  the  Rhine,  who  was  emi- 

1  That  the  Germans,  at  the  time  under  discussion,  regarded  learn- 
ing as  having  an  effeminating  effect  on  men  is  well  illustrated  by 
the  following  characteristic  anecdote:  "When  Amasvintha,  a  very 
learned  woman  who  was  a  daughter  of  the  Ostrogoth  King,  Theodoric, 
selected  three  masters  for  the  instruction  of  her  son,  the  people 
became  indignant.  '  Theodoric, '  they  exclaimed,  l  never  sent  the 
children  of  the  Goths  to  school,  learning  making  a  woman  of  a  man 
and  rendering  him  timorous.  The  saber  and  the  lance  are  sufficient 
for  him/  "   Procopius,  De  Bello  Gothico,  I,  2,  Leipsic,  1905. 

If  we  may  judge  by  a  letter  from  Pace  to  Dean  Colet,  the  noted 
classical  scholar  and  founder  of  St.  Paul's  school  in  London,  such 
views  found  acceptance  in  England  as  late  as  the  time  of  More  and 
Erasmus.  For  we  are  told  of  a  British  parent  who  expressed  his 
opinion  on  the  education  of  men  in  these  words:  "I  swear  by  God's 
body  I'd  rather  that  my  son  should  hang  than  study  letters.  The 
study  of  letters  should  be  left  to  rustics." 


278  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

nent  not  only  as  a  theologian  but  also  as  a  writer  whose 
treatises  on  various  branches  of  science  are  justly  regarded 
as  the  most  important  productions  of  the  kind  during  the 
Middle  Ages  prior  to  the  time  of  Albertus  Magnus.  Be- 
sides this,  she  not  only  wrote  many  books  on  materia 
medica,  on  pathology,  physiology  and  therapeutics,  but,  as 
a  practitioner,  she  gloriously  sustained  the  best  traditions 
of  her  sex  in  both  theoretical  and  practical  medicine. 

Her  work  entitled  Liber  Simplicis  Medicince,  which  deals 
with  what  in  the  Saint's  time  was  called  "simples" — for 
the  belief  was  then  current  that  each  plant  or  herb  was  or 
provided  a  specific  for  some  disease — contains  accounts  of 
many  plants  used  in  materia  medica,  as  well  as  statements 
of  their  importance  in  therapeutics.  Her  descriptions  often 
indicate  an  observer  of  exceptionally  keen  perception  and 
one  whose  knowledge  of  science  was  far  in  advance  of  her 
epoch.  The  same  observations  may  be  made  respecting 
Hildegard's  work,  Liber  Composite  Medicina,  in  which  she 
treats  of  the  causes,  signs  and  treatment  of  diseases.1 

Still  more  remarkable,  in  many  respects,  is  a  treatise  in 
nine  books,  entitled  Physica  or  Liber  Subtilitatum  Diver- 
sarum  Naturarum  Creaturarum,  which,  among  other 
things,  treats  of  the  various  elements,  of  plants,  trees,  min- 
erals, fish,  birds,  quadrupeds,  and  of  the  manner  in  which 
they  may  be  of  service  to  man.  Of  so  great  importance 
was  this  book  considered  that  several  editions  of  it  were 
printed  as  early  as  the  sixteenth  century.  No  less  an 
authority  than  the  late  Rudolph  Virchow,  the  founder  of 
cellular  pathology,  characterizes  it  as  an  early  materia 
medica,  curiously  complete,  considering  the  age  to  which  it 
belongs."2      And    Haeser,    in    his    history    of    medicine, 

i  This  work  was  for  a  long  time  regarded  as  lost,  but  a  manu- 
script copy  was  recently  found  in  Copenhagen,  and  it  has  since  been 
published  by  Teubner  of  Leipsic,  under  the*  title  of  Hildegard's 
Causes  et  Curce. 

^Archiv  fur  Pathologische  Anatomie  und  Physiologie  und  fur 
Klinische  Medicin,  Band  18,  p.  286,  Berlin. 


WOMEN    IN    MEDICINE    AND    SURGERY    279 

directs  attention  to  the  historical  value  of  the  book,  de- 
claring it  to  be  "an  independent  German  treatise,  based 
chiefly  on  popular  experience." 

Dr.  F.  A.  Reuss,  of  the  University  of  Wiirtzburg,  at  the 
conclusion  of  his  Prolegomena  to  the  Physica  published  in 
Migne's  Patrologia,  expresses  himself  as  follows  regarding 
the  writings  and  medical  knowledge  of  the  illustrious  ab- 
bess of  Bingen:  "Among  all  the  saintly  religieuses  who, 
during  the  Middle  Ages,  practiced  medicine  or  wrote  trea- 
tises on  it,  the  first,  without  contradiction,  is  Hildegard. 
According  to  the  monk  Theodoric,  who  was  an  eye  witness, 
she  had  to  so  high  a  degree  the  gift  of  healing  that  no  sick 
person  had  recourse  to  her  without  being  restored  to  health. 
There  is  among  the  books  of  this  prophetic  virgin  a  work 
which  treats  of  physics  and  medicine.  Its  title  is  De 
Natura  Nominis  Element  or  um  Diversarumque  Creatur- 
arum,  and  it  embodies,  as  the  same  Theodoric  fully  ex- 
plains, the  secrets  of  nature  which  were  revealed  to  the 
saint  by  the  prophetic  spirit.  All  who  wish  to  write  the 
history  of  the  medical  and  natural  sciences  should  read  this 
book,  in  which  the  holy  virgin,  initiated  into  all  the  secrets 
of  nature  which  were  then  known,  and  having  received 
special  assistance  from  above,  thoroughly  examines  and 
scrutinizes  all  that  which  was,  until  then,  buried  in  dark- 
ness and  concealed  from  the  eyes  of  mortals.  It  is  certain 
that  Hildegard  was  acquainted  with  many  things  of  which 
the  doctors  of  the  Middle  Ages  were  ignorant,  and  which 
the  investigators  of  our  own  age,  after  rediscovering  them, 
have  announced  as  something  entirely  new."1 

The  life  and  works  of  St.  Hildegard  throw  a  flood  of 
light  on  many  subjects  that  have  long  been  veiled  in  mys- 
tery. It  explains  why  the  convents  of  the  later  Middle 
Ages  were  so  famed  as  curative  centers  and  why  the  sick 
flocked  to  them  for  relief  from  far  and  near.  It  reveals 
the  real  agencies  employed  in  effecting  the  extraordinary 
i/S.  Hildegardis  Opera  Omnia,  Ed.  Migne,  p.  1122,  Paris,  1882. 


280  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

cures  that  were  reported  in  so  many  religious  houses — 
cures  so  extraordinary  that  they  were  usually  regarded  by 
the  multitude  as  miraculous — and  discloses  the  secret  of 
the  success  of  so  many  nuns  in  the  alleviation  of  physical 
and  mental  sufferings.  It  was  not  because  they  were 
thaumaturges,  but  because  they  were  good  nurses,  and 
because  of  their  thorough  knowledge  of  the  healing  art, 
that  they  were  able  to  diagnose  and  prescribe  for  diseases 
of  all  kinds  with  a  success  which,  in  the  estimation  of  the 
multitude,  savored  of  the  supernatural. 

There  was  also  another  reason  for  the  fame  of  convents 
as  sanctuaries  of  health.  They  were  usually  situated  in 
healthy  locations  where  there  was  an  abundance  of  pure 
water,  fresh  air  and  cheerful  sunshine.  Then  there  were 
likewise  a  wholesome  diet,  good  sanitary  conditions,  and, 
above  all,  regularity  of  life. 

The  same  can  be  said  of  the  hospitals  connected  with  the 
convents.  They  were  not  like  some  of  the  public  hospitals 
of  the  eighteenth  and  nineteenth  centuries  in  many  of  the 
large  cities  of  Europe — repulsive,  prison-like  structures, 
with  narrow  windows  and  devoid  of  light  and  air  and  the 
most  necessary  hygienic  appliances — institutions  that  were 
hospitals  in  name,  but  which  were  in  reality  too  frequently 
breeding  places  of  disease  and  death.1 

i 1 1  In  the  municipal  and  state  institutions  of  this  period  the 
beautiful  gardens,  roomy  halls  and  springs  of  water  of  the  old 
cloistral  hospital  of  the  Middle  Ages  were  not  heard  of,  still  less 
the  comforts  of  their  friendly  interiors."  A  History  of  Nursing, 
Vol.  I,  p.  500,  M.  Adelaide  Nutting  and  Lavinia  L.  Dock,  New  York, 
1907. 

The  mortality  in  some  of  the  state  hospitals  from  the  latter  part 
of  the  seventeenth  to  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century  was 
appalling,  often  as  high  as  fifty  and  sixty  per  cent.  This  was  due 
not  only  to  shockingly  unsanitary  conditions,  but  also  to  inordinate 
overcrowding.  A  large  proportion  of  the  beds,  incredible  as  it  may 
seem,  were  purposely  made  for  four  patients,  and  six  were  fre- 
quently crowded  into  them.  "The  extraordinary  spectacle  was  then 
to  be  seen  of  two  or  three  small-pox  cases,  or  several  surgical  cases, 


WOMEN    IN    MEDICINE    AND    SURGERY   281 

Unlike  these,  the  hospitals  presided  over  by  nuns  of  the 
type  of  Hildegard  were  splendid  roomy  structures  with 
large  windows  and  abundance  of  light,  pure  air,  with 
special  provisions  for  the  privacy  of  the  patients,  and  with 
sanitary  arrangements  that  not  only  precluded  the  dis- 
semination of  disease  but  which  contributed  materially  to 
those  marvelous  cures  which  the  good  people  of  the  time 
attributed  to  supernatural  agencies  rather  than  to  the 
medical  knowledge  and  skill  of  the  devoted  nuns,1  who 
were  the  real  conquerors  of  disease  and  death. 

But  the  inmates  of  the  cloister  were  not  the  only  women 
who,  during  the  Middle  Ages,  achieved  distinction  by  their 
writings  on  medical  subjects  and  by  their  signal  success  in 
the  practice  of  the  healing  art.  In  various  parts  of  Eu- 
rope, but  especially  in  Italy  and  France,  there  were  at 
this  time  among  women,  outside  as  well  as  inside  con- 
vent walls,  many  daughters  of  ^Esculapius  and  sisters  of 
Hygeia  who  stood  in  such  high  repute  among  their  contem- 
poraries that  they  received  the  same  honors  and  emolu- 
ments as  were  accorded  to  their  masculine  colleagues. 

This  was  particularly  the  case  in  Salerno,  which  was  the 
venerated  mother  of  all  Christian  medical  schools,  and 
which,  for  nine  centuries,  was  universally  regarded  as  ' '  the 
unquestioned  fountain  and  archetype  of  orthodox  medi- 
cine."   Situated  on  the  Gulf  of  Salerno,  and  laved  by  the 

lying  on  one  bed."  John  Howard,  in  his  Prisons  and  Hospitals, 
pp.  176-177.  Warrington,  1874,  tells  us  of  two  hospitals  that  were 
so  crowded  that  he  had  "often  seen  five  or  six  patients  in  one  bed, 
and  some  of  them  dying." 

It  is  gratifying  to  learn  that  the  chief  agents  in  changing  this 
revolting  condition,  due  to  faulty  construction  and  management  of 
hospitals,  were  women.  Prominent  among  these  benefactors  of  hu- 
manity were  Mme.  Necker,  Florence  Nightingale,  and  the  wise  and 
alert  superiors  of  the  various  nursing  sisterhoods. 

1  How  like  Chaucer 's  prioress  who 

"Was  so  charitable  and  so  piteous, 
And  al  was  conscience  and  tender  herte. ' ' 


282  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

cerulean  waters  of  the  Tyrrhenian  sea,  the  Civitas  Hip- 
pocratica,  as  it  was  called  on  its  medals,  rejoiced  in  a  sa- 
lubrious climate,  and  was  celebrated  throughout  the  world 
as  the  "City  sacred  to  Phoebus,  the  sedulous  nurse  of 
Minerva,  the  fountain  of  physic,  the  votary  of  medicine, 
the  handmaid  of  Nature,  the  destroyer  of  disease  and  the 
strong  adversary  of  death. ' ' l  For  to  this  favored  city 
flocked  from  all  quarters  the  lame  and  the  halt  and  those 
afflicted  with  the  tortures  of  disease  and  the  disabilities  of 
advancing  years.  The  noble  and  the  simple,  crowned  heads 
as  well  as  the  poorest  of  the  poor,  were  found  there,  all  of 
them  in  quest  of  life's  most  precious  boon — health  and 
strength. 

Never  did  the  far-famed  sanctuary  of  the  god  of  medi- 
cine in  Epidaurus  witness  such  an  influx  of  invalids  as 
gathered  in  the  hospitals  of  Salerno  and  pressed  through 
the  streets  of  the  Hippocratic  city,  seeking  the  aid  of  those 
doctors  whose  marvelous  cures  had  given  them  a  world- 
wide reputation.  Small  wonder,  then,  that  the  Regimen 
Santatis  Salernitanum — that  famous  code  of  health  of  the 
school  of  Salerno — has  been  translated  into  almost  all  the 
languages  of  modern  Europe,  and  that  since  1480  no  fewer 
than  two  hundred  and  fifty  editions  of  it  have  been  pub- 
lished. "Not  to  have  been  familiar  with  it  from  beginning 
to  end,  not  to  have  been  able  to  quote  it  orally  as  occasion 
might  require,  would,  during  the  Middle  Ages,  have  cast 
serious  suspicion  upon  the  professional  culture  of  any  phy- 

1  Cf .  Lib.  de  Virtutibus  et  Laudibus,  by  iEgidius,  head  physician 
to  Philip  Augustus  of  France,  in  which  occur  the  following  verses: 

Urbs  Phcebo  sacrata,  Minervse  sedula  nutrix, 
Fons  physicae,  pugil  eucrasiae,  cultrix  medicinae, 
Assecla  Naturae,  vitae  paranympha,  salutis 
Promula  fida;  magis  Lachesis  soror,  Atropos  hostis. 
Morbi  pernicies,  gravis  adversaria  mortis. 

quoted  in  the  appendix,  p.  xxxii,  to  S.  de  Eenzi's,  Storia  Documen 
fata  della  Scuola  Medica  di  Salerno,  Naples,  1857, 


WOMEN    IN    MEDICINE    AND    SURGERY   283 

sician. ' ' 1  But  the  noblest  claims  of  the  Hippocratic  city 
to  the  gratitude  of  humanity  yet  remain  to  be  told.  A 
German  traveler  in  the  thirteenth  century  wrote : 

"Laudibus  aeternum  nullum  neg-at  esse  Salernum 
Illuc   pro  xnorbis   totus   circumfluit   orbis." 2 

This  was  because  Salerno  was  universally  recognized  as 
the  "day  star"  and  "morning  glory"  of  the  best  culture  in 
the  healing  art,  and,  still  more,  because  of  the  thorough 
instruction  she  gave  in  her  schools  of  medicine  and  the  pre- 
eminence she  so  long  held  in  every  department  of  medical 
lore. 

The  course  of  study  in  medicine  was  long  and  thorough, 
and  the  candidate  applying  for  a  degree  had  to  pass  a 
rigid  examination  and  give  proof  not  only  of  his  profi- 
ciency in  every  branch  of  the  healing  art,  but  also  of  per- 
fect acquaintance  with  the  various  branches  of  science  and 
letters  as  well.  At  the  time  of  Frederick  II,  who  organ- 
ized all  the  different  schools  of  Salerno  into  a  single  uni- 
versity, a  three  years'  course  in  philosophy  and  literature 
was  required  before  one  could  present  himself  for  entrance 
into  the  school  of  medicine.  The  courses  in  medicine  lasted 
five  years,  at  least,  after  which  a  year  of  practice  with  an 
old  physician  was  required.  In  addition  to  this,  if  the 
candidate  wished  to  practice  surgery  he  was  obliged  to 
devote  one  year  to  the  study  of  human  anatomy  and  to  the 
dissection  of  human  bodies.  Considering  the  progress  of 
knowledge  since  the  time  of  Frederick  II,  it  must  be  ad- 
mitted that  the  legal  requirements  enforced  by  the  faculty 
of  Salerno  compare  favorably  with  those  of  the  best  of  our 
medical  schools  of  to-day. 

Still  more  to  the  credit  of  Salerno,  long  known  as  the 

i  Cf .     The  introduction  to  the  English  translation  of  the  Begimen 
Sanitatis  Salernitanum,  p.  28,  by  J.  Ordronaux,  Philadelphia,  1870. 
2  1 1  Immortal  praise  adorns  Salerno 's  name 
To  seek  whose  shrine  the  world  once  came," 


284  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

Athens  of  the  two  Sicilies,  was  her  boundless  liberality 
toward  scholarship  and  culture  regardless  of  sex.  For, 
with  a  chivalrous  admiration  for  intellect,  wherever  found, 
and  with  a  sense  of  intellectual  justice  that  has  put  to 
shame  all  medical  schools  outside  of  Italy,  until  less  than 
fifty  years  ago,  the  school  of  Salerno  was  the  first  to  throw 
open  its  portals  to  women  as  well  as  men,  and  give  to  an 
admiring  world  a  number  of  women — those  celebrated 
mulieres  Salernitance — who  were  eminent  not  only  as  physi- 
cians, but  also  as  professors  of  the  theory  and  practice  of 
medicine.  For  this  reason,  if  for  no  other,  it  can  be  truly 
affirmed  that ' '  No  school  of  medicine  in  any  age  or  country, 
if  only  for  this,  can  ever  over-peer  her  in  renown;  and, 
even  as  formerly  in  the  universities  of  Europe,  at  the  bare 
mention  of  the  name  of  the  learned  Cujacius,  every  scholar 
instinctively  uncovered  himself,  so  at  the  very  name  of 
Salernum,  the  fount  and  nurse  of  rational  medicine,  every 
physician  should  recall  her  memory  'with  mute  thanks  and 
secret  ecstasy'  as  among  the  most  spotless  and  venerated 
chapters  in  the  history  of  his  art."1 

The  most  noted  professor  and  successful  practitioner 
among  the  women  of  Salerno  was  Trotula,  wife  of  the  dis- 
tinguished physician,  John  Platearius,  and  a  member  of  the 
old  noble  family  of  the  Ruggiero.  She  flourished  during 
the  eleventh  century  and  enjoyed  a  reputation  as  a  physi- 
cian that  was  not  inferior  to  that  of  the  most  noted  doctors 
of  her  time.  Besides  occupying  a  chair  in  the  school  of 
medicine  and  having  an  extensive  practice,  she  was  the 
author  of  many  works  on  medicine  which  had  a  great 
vogue  among  her  contemporaries.  Some  of  them,  especially 
those  relating  to  diseases  of  her  own  sex,2  were  published 

i  See  Storia  Documentata  della  Scuola  Medica  di  Salerno,  ut.  sup., 
p.  474  et  seq.,  and  p.  Ixxvi  et  seq.  of  Appendix;  also  Ordronaux, 
ut  sup.,  p.  16. 

2  Probably  her  most  noted  work  is  the  one  which  bears  the  title 
JDe  Morbis  Mulierum  et  Eorum  Cura — The  Diseases  of  Women  and 
Their  Cure. 


WOMEN    IN    MEDICINE    AND    SURGERY    285 

several  times  after  the  invention  of  printing,  and  many- 
manuscript  copies  of  her  works  are  still  found  in  various 
libraries  of  Europe.  But  she  did  not  confine  her  practice 
to  the  diseases  of  women.  She  was  also  well  versed  in  gen- 
eral medicine  and  exhibited,  besides,  as  her  works  testify, 
marked  skill  as  a  surgeon  in  many  cases  that  would  even 
now  be  considered  as  peculiarly  difficult  of  treatment. 

One  of  her  books  was  entitled  De  Compositione  Medica- 
mentorum — the  Compounding  of  Medicaments — and  it  was 
this  work,  doubtless,  that  gave  her  much  of  the  fame  she 
enjoyed  beyond  the  confines  of  Italy.  Ruteboeuf,  a  noted 
French  trouvere  of  the  thirteenth  century,  gives  us  a  quaint 
picture  of  a  scene  frequently  witnessed  in  his  day.  Crowds 
were  frequently  attracted  by  herbalists — venders  of  sim- 
ples— who,  stationed  at  street  corners  or  in  other  public 
places,  near  tables  covered  with  a  cloth  of  flaring  colors, 
were  wont  to  descant,  somewhat  after  the  style  of  certain 
of  our  patent-medicine  hawkers  and  quack-salvers,  upon 
the  extraordinary  curative  properties  of  the  various  drugs 

tand  panaceas  which  they  had  for  sale. 
"Good  people,"  one  of  these  traveling  herb  doctors 
would  begin,  "I  am  not  one  of  those  poor  preachers,  nor 
one  of  those  poor  herbalists  who  carry  boxes  and  sachets 
and  spread  them  out  on  a  carpet.  No,  I  am  a  disciple  of 
a  great  lady  named  Madame  Trotte  of  Salerno,  who  per- 
forms such  marvels  of  every  kind.  And  know  ye  that  she 
is  the  wisest  woman  in  the  four  quarters  of  the  world. ' ' 

Ordericus  Vitalis,  an  English  Benedictine  monk,  in  his 
Historia  Ecclesiastica,  tells  us  of  the  impression  made  by 
Trotula  on  Rudolfo  Malacorona,  one  of  those  famous  itiner- 
ant scholars  of  the  Middle  Ages,  who  spent  their  lives  in 
wandering  from  one  university  to  another  in  pursuit  of 
knowledge.  He  had  been  a  student  from  his  youth  and 
was  a  man  of  remarkable  attainments  in  every  department 
of  learning.  After  visiting  and  conferring  with  the  learned 
men  of  the  most  celebrated  universities  of  France   and 


286  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

Italy,  he  finally  arrived  at  Salerno,  where,  he  informs  us, 
he  found  no  one  who  could  cope  with  him  in  disputation 
except  quandam  sapientem  matronam — a  certain  very 
learned  woman.1  This  was  Trotula,  who,  by  reason  of  the 
extraordinary  cures  she  effected,  was  known  among  her 
contemporaries  as  magistra  operis — a  consummate  prac- 
titioner. When,  however,  we  consider  the  thorough  course 
of  study  that  every  one  aspiring  to  a  degree  in  medicine 
was  obliged  to  complete,  women  as  well  as  men,  it  is  not 
so  surprising  that  Trotula  should  be  regarded  both  as  a 
learned  woman  and  as  a  successful  physician. 

Among  other  women  doctors  who  did  honor  to  Salerno 
and  whose  names  have  come  down  to  us  were  three  who  are 
known  in  history  as  Abella,  Eebeca  de  Guarna  and  Mercuri- 
ade.  All  of  them  achieved  a  great  reputation  by  their 
writings  on  medical  subjects,  especially  Mercuriade,  who 
distinguished  herself  in  surgery  as  well  as  in  medicine. 
Still  another  woman  deserving  special  mention  is  Fran- 
cesca,  wife  of  Matteo  de  Romana,  of  Salerno.  After  pass- 
ing a  very  severe  examination  before  a  board  composed  of 
physicians  and  surgeons,  she  was  accorded  the  doctorate  in 
surgery.  An  official  document  of  the  time  referring  to  this 
event  reads  as  follows :  ' '  Whereas  the  laws  permit  women 
to  practice  medicine,  and  whereas,  from  the  viewpoint  of 
good  morals,  women  are  best  adapted  to  the  treatment  of 
their  own  sex,  we,  after  having  received  the  oath  of  fidel- 
ity, permit  the  said  Francesca  to  practice  the  said  art  of 
healing,"  etc.2 

i * '  Physicge  quoque  scientiam  tarn  copiose  habuit  ut  in  urbe 
Psaleritana,  ubi  maxime  medicorum  scholse  ab  antiquo  tempore  ha- 
bentur,  neminem  in  medicinali  arte,  praeter  quandam  sapientem 
matronam,  sibi  parem  inveniret."  Migne,  Patrologiae  Latinae,  Tom. 
188,  Col.  260. 

2  As  this  decree  is  of  singular  interest  and  importance,  a  copy 
of  the  original  is  here  given  in  full: 

"Karolus,  etc.,  Universis  per  Justitieratum  Principatus  citra  Ser- 
ras  Montorii  constitutis  presentes  litteras  inspecturis   fidelibus  pa- 


WOMEN    IN    MEDICINE    AND    SURGERY    287 

In  view  of  the  facts  above  mentioned  regarding  the  Uni- 
versity of  Salerno — the  excellence  of  its  work,  its  liberality 
and  breadth  of  view,  its  attitude  toward  the  higher  educa- 
tion of  women,  and  its  preeminence  for  so  many  centuries 
as  a  school  of  medicine — is  it  surprising  that  it  was,  until 
comparatively  recent  times,  considered  ' '  the  mater  et  caput 
of  medical  authority  in  ethical  matters,"  and  that,  so  late 
as  1748,  the  Medical  Faculty  of  Paris  should  address  an 
official  letter  to  the  faculty  of  Salerno  requesting  its  judg- 
ment regarding  the  rights  of  precedence  as  between  physi- 
cians and  surgeons  ?    But  what  is  surprising,  and  what,  too, 

ternis  et  suis  salutem,  etc.  In  actionibus  nostris  utilitati  puplice 
libenter  oportune  perspicimus  et  honestatem  morum  in  quantum  suadet 
modestia  conservamus.  Sane  Francisca  uxor  Mathei  de  Eomana  de 
Salerno  in  Eegia  Curia  presens  exposuit  quod  ipsa  circa  principale 
exercitium  eirurgie  sumciens  circumspecto  in  talibus  judicio  reputa- 
tur.  Propter  quod  excellentie  nostre  supplicavit  attentius  ut  licen- 
tiam  sibi  dignaremus  concedere  in  arte  hujusmodi  practicandi.  Quia 
igitur  per  scriptum  puplicum  universitatis  terre  Salerni  presentatum 
eidem  Eegie  Curie,  inventum  est  lucide  quod  Francisca  prefata  fidelis 
est  et  genere  orta  ndelium  ac  examinata  per  medicos  Eegios  pa- 
ternos  nostrosque  cirurgicos,  in  eadem  arte  eirurgie  tamquam  ydiota 
sufficiens  est  inventa,  licet  alienum  sit  feminis  conventibus  interrese 
virorum,  ne  in  matronalis  pudoris  contumelia  irruant  et  primum  cul- 
pam  vetite  transgressionis  ineurrant.  Quia  tamen  de  juris  indicto 
medicine  omcium  mulieribus  est  concessum  expedienter  attento  quod 
ad  mulieres  curandas  egrotas  de  honestate  morum  viris  sunt  femine 
aptiores,  not  recepto  prius  ab  eadem  Francisca  solito  fidelitatis  et 
quod  iuxta  tradiciones  ipsius  artis  curabit  fideliter  corporaliter  Jura- 
mento,  licentiam  curandi  et  practicandi  sibi  in  eadem  arte  per  Jus- 
titieratum  jam  dictum  auctoritate  presentium  impartimus.  Quare 
fidelitati  vestre  precipimus  quatenus  eandem  Franciscam  curare  et 
practicari  in  prefata  arte  per  Justitieratum  predictum  ad  honorem 
et  fidelitatem  paternam  et  nostram  ac  utilitatem  ndelium  presentium 
earumdam  libere  permittatis,  nullum  sibi  in  hoc  impedimentum  vel 
obstaculum  interentes.  Datum  Neapoli  per  dominum  Bartholomeum 
de  Capua,  etc.,  Anno  domini  mccexxi,  die  x  Septembris  v,  indictionis 
Eegnorum  dieti  domini  patris  nostri  anno  xiii. 

Collectio  Salernitana,  Tom.  Ill,  p.  338,  by  G.  Henschel,  C.  Darem- 
berg,  and  S.  de  Eenzi,  Naples,  1852-59. 


288  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

passes  all  understanding,  is  that  the  University  of  London, 
after  being  empowered  by  royal  charter  to  do  all  things 
that  could  be  done  by  any  university,  was  legally  advised 
that  it  could  not  grant  degrees  to  women  without  a  fresh 
charter,  because  no  university  had  ever  granted  such  de- 
grees.1 

While  women  were  winning  such  laurels  in  Salerno  in 
every  department  of  the  healing  art,  their  sisters  north  of 
the  Alps  were  not  idle.  As  early  as  1292  there  were  in 
Paris  no  less  than  eight  women  doctors— called  miresses  or 
mediciennes — whose  names  have  come  down  to  us,  not  to 
speak  of  those  who  practiced  in  other  parts  of  France. 
There  was  also  a  certain  number  of  women  who  devoted 
themselves  to  surgery  and  called  by  the  old  Latin  authors 
of  the  time  cyrurgicce. 

Hn  Paris,  however,  conditions  for  studying  and  practic- 
ing medicine  and  surgery  were  far  from  being  as  favorable 
to  women  as  they  were  in  Salerno.  As  there  were  no 
schools  open  to  them  for  the  study  of  these  branches,  they 
had  to  depend  entirely  for  such  knowledge  as  they  were 
able  to  acquire  on  the  aid  they  could  get  from  practicing 
doctors,  the  reading  of  medical  books  and  their  own  experi- 
ence. The  consequence  was  that  they  were  not  at  all  so 
well  equipped  for  their  work  as  were  the  women  who 
enjoyed  all  the  exceptional  advantages  offered  the  students 
at  Salerno.  None  of  them  was  noted  for  scholarship,  none 
of  them  was  a  writer  of  books,  and  only  one  of  them — 

i  Universities  in  the  Middle  Ages,  Vol.  II,  Part  II,  p.  712,  by 
H.  Bashdall,  Oxford,  1895.  The  most  exhaustive  work  on  the  Uni- 
versity of  Salerno  and  its  famous  doctors,  men  and  women,  is  a  joint 
work  in  five  volumes  entitled  Collectio  Salernitana;  ossia  Documcnti 
Inediti  e  Trattati  di  Medicina  appartenenti  alia  scuola  Salernitana, 
raecolti  e  illustrati,  by  G.  Hensehel,  C.  Daremberg  e  S.  Renzi,  Naples, 
1852-59.  Cf.  also,  Storia  Doeumentata  della  Scuola  Medica  di  Sa- 
lerno, by  S.  de  Renzi,  "Naples,  1857;  L'Ecole  de  Salerne,  by  G.  Meaux, 
with  introduction  by  C.  Daremberg,  Paris,  1880,  and  Piero  Giacosa's 
Magistri  Salernitani  Nondum  Editi,  Turin,  1891. 


WOMEN    IN    MEDICINE    AND    SURGERY    289 

Jacobe  Felicie,  about  whom  more  presently — rose  above 
mediocrity. 

The  reason  for  the  great  difference  between  the  condi- 
tions of  the  women  doctors  of  Paris  and  those  of  Salerno  is 
not  far  to  seek.  The  Faculty  of  Medicine  in  Paris  was, 
from  the  beginning  of  its  existence,  unalterably  opposed  to 
female  medical  practitioners.  As  early  as  1220  it  promul- 
gated an  edict  prohibiting  the  practice  of  medicine  by  any 
one  who  did  not  belong  to  the  faculty,  and,  according  to 
its  constitutions  and  by-laws,  only  unmarried  men  were 
eligible  to  membership. 

For  a  long  time  the  edict  remained  a  dead  letter.  But 
eventually,  as  the  faculty  grew  in  power  and  influence,  it 
was  able  to  enforce  the  observance  of  its  decrees.  One  of 
its  first  victims  was  Jacobe  Felicie,  just  mentioned,  who  was 
hailed  before  court  for  practicing  medicine  in  contraven- 
tion of  its  edict  issued  many  years  before. 

Jacobe  Felicie  was  a  woman  of  noble  birth,  and  had  won 
distinction  by  her  success  in  the  healing  art.  As  the  testi- 
mony at  her  trial  revealed,  she  never  treated  the  sick  for 
the  sake  of  gain.  In  nearly  all  cases  the  sick  who  had 
addressed  themselves  to  her  had  been  abandoned  by  their 
own  physicians.  All  the  witnesses  who  had  been  called 
testified  that  they  had  been  cured  by  Jacobe  Felicie,  and 
all  expressed  their  deepest  gratitude  to  her  for  her  care 
and  devotion.  But,  in  spite  of  all  these  facts,  and  in  spite 
of  the  brilliant  defence  that  this  worthy  woman  made, 
she  was  condemned  to  pay  a  heavy  fine — condemned  be- 
cause, as  the  indictment  read,  she  had  presumed  to  put  her 
sickle  into  the  harvest  of  others — falcem  in  messem  mittere 
alienam — and  this  was  a  crime.1  The  faculty  was  a  close 
corporation  and  insisted  that  its  members  should  have  a 
monopoly  of  all  the  honors  and  emoluments  that  were  to 
accrue  from  the  treatment  of  the  sick  and  suffering.    What 

1  Chartularium  Universitatis  Parisiensis,  Tom.  II,  p.  150,  and 
pp.  255  and  267,  by  Denifle  and  Chatelain,  Paris,  1889-1891. 


290  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

a  curious  adumbration  of  similar  proceedings  within  the 
memory  of  many  still  living ! 

The  prosecution  of  Jacobe  Felicie '  recalls  that  of  Agno- 
dice  in  Greece  long  ages  before.  And  the  plea  urged  for 
the  necessity  of  a  female  physician — that  many  a  woman 
would  rather  die  than  reveal  the  secrets  of  her  infirmity  to 
a  man1 — was  the  same  as  that  offered  by  the  women  of 
Athens  before  the  council  of  the  Areopagus.  It  was  the 
same  agonizing  cry  that  had  been  heard  thousands  of  times 
before  and  which  has  been  heard  thousands  of  times  since. 
Isabella  of  Castile  was  not  the  first  of  the  long  list  of 
victims  who,  for  lack  of  a  doctor  of  their  own  sex,  have 
been  sacrificed  through  womanly  modesty,  and,  more's  the 
pity,  she  will  not  be  the  last. 

Unfortunately  for  the  women  of  France,  the  result  of 
the  prosecution  of  Mme.  Felicie  was  the  very  reverse  of 
that  instituted  against  Agnodiee;  for  the  latter  came  off 
victorious,  while  the  former  was  condemned  and  punished. 
So  crushing  was  the  blow  dealt  to  women  practitioners, 
outside  of  obstetrics,  that  they  did  not  recover  from  its 
effects  for  more  than  five  hundred  years.  For  it  was  not 
until  1868  that  the  Ecole  de  Medicine  of  Paris  opened  its 
doors  to  women,  and  it  was  not  until  nearly  twenty  years 
later  that  female  physicians  were  able  to  enter  the  hospi- 
tals of  the  French  capital  as  internes.2 

Until  quite  recent  years  there  is  very  little  to  be  said  of 
women  physicians  in  England  and  Germany.  Their  prac- 
tice, outside  of  that  of  certain  herb  doctors,  was  confined 

i ' '  Mulier  antea  permitteret  se  mori,  quam  secreta  infirmitatis 
sui  homini  revelare  propter  honestatem  sexus  muliebris  et  propter 
verecundiam  quam  revelando  pateretur.  '*  Chartularlum  Universi- 
tatis  Parisiensis,  Tom.  II,  p.  264,  Paris,  1891. 

2  It  may  interest  the  reader  to  know  that  the  first  two  women  to 
get  the  doctorate  in  the  Paris  School  of  Medicine  were  Miss  Eliza- 
beth Garret,  an  English  woman,  and  Miss  Mary  Putnam,  an  Ameri- 
can. The  first  woman  permitted  to  practice  in  the  Paris  hospitals 
was  likewise  an  American,  Miss  Augusta  EJumpke,  of  San  Francisco. 


WOMEN    IN    MEDICINE    AND    SURGERY    291 

chiefly  to  midwifery.  There  was  no  provision  made  in 
either  of  these  countries  for  the  education  of  women  in 
medicine  and  surgery,  and  such  a  thing  as  a  college  where 
they  could  receive  instruction  in  the  healing  art  was  un- 
known. It  is  true  that  an  ecclesiastical  law  of  Edgar, 
King  of  England,  permitted  women  as  well  as  men  to  prac- 
tice medicine,  but  this  law  was  subsequently  abolished  by 
Henry  V.1 

During  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII  a  law  was  again  en- 
acted in  favor  of  women  physicians;  for  at  that  time  an 
act  was  passed  for  the  relief  and  protection  of  "Divers 
honest  psones,  as  well  men  as  women,  whom  God  hathe 
endued  with  the  knowledge  of  the  nature,  kind  and  opera- 
tion of  certeyne  herbes,  rotes  and  waters,  and  the  using  and 
ministering  them  to  suche  as  be  payned  with  customable 
diseases,  for  neighbourhode  and  Goddes  sake  and  of  pitie 
and  charitie,  because  that  'The  Companie  and  Fellowship 
of  Surgeons  of  London,  mynding  only  their  owne  lucres 
and  nothing  the  profit  or  case  of  the  diseased  or  patient, 
have  sued,  vexed  and  troubled '  the  aforesaid  'honest 
psones,'  who  were  henceforth  to  be  allowed  'to  practyse, 
use  and  mynistre  in  and  to  any  outwarde  sore,  swelling  or 
disease,  any  herbes,  oyntments,  bathes,  pultes  or  emplasters, 
according  to  their  cooning,  experience  and  knowledge — 
without  sute,  vexation,  penaltie  or  loss  of  their  goods.'  "2 
The  italicized  words  in  this  quotation  prove  that  the 
women  doctors  of  England  had  the  same  difficulties  as  their 
sisters  in  France,  and  that  the  real  reason  of  the  opposition 
of  the  male  practitioners  was  that  they  wished  to  monopo- 
ly ' '  Possunt  et  vir  et  f  oemina  medici  esse. ' '  Cf .  Chiappelli,  Medi- 
feina  negli  Ultimi  Tre  Secoli  del  Medio  Evo,  Milan,  1885. 

2  Quoted  in  Woman's  Work  and  Woman's  Culture,  p.  87,  Joseph- 
ine E.  Butler,  London,  1869.  Dom  Gasquet  in  his  English  Monastic 
Life,  p.  175,  tells  us  that  in  the  Wiltshire  convents  "the  young 
maids  learned  needlework,  the  art  of  confectionery,  surgery — for 
anciently  there  were  no  apothecaries  or  surgeons;  the  gentlewomen 
did  cure  their  poor  neighbors — physic,  drawing,  etc." 


392  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

lize  the  practice  of  medicine.  They,  like  the  medical  fac- 
ulty of  Paris,  strenuously  objected  to  women  "  putting  the 
sickle  into  their  harvest/ '  and  they,  accordingly,  left  noth- 
ing undone  to  circumvent  the  intrusion  of  those  whom  they 
always  regarded  as  undesirable  competitors. 

It  was  argued  by  the  men  that  women,  to  begin  with, 
lacked  the  strength  and  capacity  necessary  for  medical 
practice.  It  was  also  urged  that  it  was  indelicate  and  un- 
womanly for  the  gentler  sex  to  engage  in  the  healing  art, 
and  that,  for  their  own  good,  they  should  be  excluded  from 
it  at  all  costs.  Those  who  were  willing  to  waive  these 
objections  contended  that  women  had  not  the  knowledge 
necessary  for  the  profession  of  medicine  and  should  be 
excluded  on  the  score  of  ignorance.  When  women  sought 
to  qualify  themselves  for  medical  practice  by  seeking  in- 
struction under  licenced  practitioners  or  in  medical  schools, 
they  found  a  deaf  ear  turned  to  their  requests.  The  doc- 
tors declined  to  teach  them  and  the  medical  schools,  one 
and  all,  closed  their  doors  against  them. 

Thus  it  was  that  in  England,  France  and  Germany  the 
practice  of  medicine  and  surgery  was  always  practically  in 
the  hands  of  men  until  only  a  generation  ago.  Even  the 
English  midwives  gradually  ' '  fell  from  their  high  estate, ' ' 
and  were  left  far  behind  the  female  obstetricians  of  Ger- 
many and  France.  For  these  two  countries  can  point  to 
a  number  of  midwives  who,  by  their  knowledge,  successful 
practice,  and  the  books  they  wrote,  achieved  a  celebrity 
that  still  endures. 

Chief  among  these  in  Germany  were  Regina  Joseph  von 
Siebold,  her  daughter  Carlotta,  and  Frau  Teresa  Frei,  all 
of  whom,  in  the  early  part  of  the  last  century,  enjoyed  an 
enviable  reputation  in  the  Fatherland. 

The  first  named,  after  following  a  course  of  lectures  on 
physiology  and  the  diseases  of  women  and  children,  and 
passing  a  brilliant  examination  in  the  medical  college  of 
Darmstadt,  devoted  herself  to  the  practice  of  obstetrics, 


WOMEN    IN    MEDICINE    AND    SURGERY    293 

and  with  so  great  success  that  the  University  of  Giessen  in 
1819  conferred  on  her  the  degree  of  doctor  of  obstetrics. 
Her  daughter,  Carlotta,  after  studying  obstetrics  under  her 
mother,  went  to  the  University  of  Gottingen,  where  she 
devoted  herself  to  physiology,  anatomy  and  pathology. 
After  passing  an  examination  and  successfully  defending  a 
number  of  theses  in  the  University  of  Giessen,  she  was  also 
proclaimed  a  doctor  of  obstetrics.  At  a  later  date  Frau 
Frei  received  a  similar  degree.1 

More  noted  as  accoucheuses  and  gynecologists  than  the 
three  distinguished  women  just  mentioned  were  Mme.  Marie 
Louise  La  Chapelle  and  Mme.  Marie  Bovin,  who,  shortly 
after  the  French  Revolution,  entered  upon  those  wonderful 
careers  in  their  chosen  specialties  which  have  given  them 
so  unique  a  place  in  the  annals  of  medicine. 

Mme.  La  Chapelle  was  particularly  celebrated  for  the 

i  The  first  woman  to  receive  the  doctorate  of  medicine  in  Germany- 
was  Frau  Dorothea  Christin  Erxleben.  Hers,  however,  was  a  wholly 
exceptional  case,  and  required  the  intervention  of  no  less  a  person- 
age than  Frederick  the  Great.  In  1754,  Frau  Erxleben,  who  had  made 
a  thorough  course  of  humanities  under  her  father,  presented  her- 
self before  the  faculty  of  the  University  of  Halle,  where  she  passed 
an  oral  examination  in  Latin  which  lasted  two  hours.  So  impressed 
were  the  examiners  by  her  knowledge  and  eloquence  that  they  did 
not  hesitate  to  adjudge  her  worthy  of  the  coveted  degree,  which  was 
accorded  her  by  virtue  of  a  royal  edict. 

Her  reception  of  the  doctorate  was  made  the  occasion  of  a  most 
enthusiastic  demonstration  in  her  honor.  Felicitations  poured  in 
upon  her  from  all  quarters  in  both  prose  and  verse.  One  of  them, 
in  lapidary  style,  runs  as  follows: 

"Stupete  nova  litteraria, 

In  Italia  nonnumquam, 

In   Germania   nunquam 

Visa  vel  audita 

At  quo  rarius  eo  carius." 

This,  freely  translated,  adverts  to  the  fact  that  an  event,  which  be- 
fore had  been  witnessed  only  in  Italy,  was  then  being  celebrated  in 
Germany  for  the  first  time,  and  was,  for  that  very  reason,  specially 
deserving  of  commemoration. 


294  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

numerous  improvements  she  effected  in  lying-in  hospitals, 
for  the  large  number  of  skilled  midwives  whom  she  fur- 
nished, not  only  to  France,  but  also  to  the  whole  of  Eu- 
rope, and,  above  all,  for  the  excellent  treatises  which  she 
wrote  on  obstetrics,  which  gave  her  a  reputation  second  to 
none  among  her  contemporaries,  men  or  women.  Her 
Pratique  des  Accouchement s,  in  three  volumes,  based  on 
the  immense  number  of  fifty  thousand  cases  at  which  she 
presided,  reveals  an  operator  of  rarest  skill  and  genius. 
This  production  was  long  regarded  as  a  standard  work  on 
the  topics  discussed,  and  for  years  exerted  an  immense 
influence  in  the  medical  world. 

Less  skillful  as  an  operator,  but  of  greater  ability  as  a 
doctor  than  Mme.  La  Chapelle,  was  her  illustrious  con- 
temporary, Mme.  Bovin.  Possessing  extraordinary  insight 
as  an  investigator  and  marvelous  sagacity  as  a  diagnos- 
tician, Mme.  Bovin  achieved  the  distinction  of  being  the 
first  really  great  woman  doctor  of  modern  times.  Her 
marvelous  success  as  a  practitioner — Dupuytren  said  she 
had  an  eye  at  the  tip  of  her  finger— her  extended  knowl- 
edge of  the  entire  range  of  gynecology,  but  above  all  her 
numerous  treatises  on  the  subject  matter  of  her  life  work, 
gave  her  a  prestige  that  none  of  her  sex  had  ever  before 
enjoyed,  and  commanded  the  admiration  of  the  doctors  of 
the  world.  Her  Memorial  de  VArt  des  Accouchements 
passed  through  many  editions  and  was  translated  into 
several  European  languages.  And  so  highly  were  her  sci- 
entific attainments  valued  in  Germany  that  the  University 
of  Marburg  recognized  them  by  conferring  on  her — hon- 
oris causa — the  degree  of  doctor  of  medicine  and,  had  its 
rules  permitted  the  admission  of  women,  the  Royal  Acad- 
emy of  Medicine  would  have  honored  her  with  a  place 
among  its  members.  She  was  also  the  recipient  of  many 
other  honors,  besides  being  a  member  of  several  learned 
societies.  But  the  greatest  monument  to  her  genius  is  a 
large  illustrated  treatise  in  two  volumes,   in  which  she 


WOMEN    IN    MEDICINE    AND    SURGERY    295 

exhibits  a  wonderful  knowledge  of  anatomy,  physiology, 
surgery,  pathology  and  therapeutics.  It  gave  her  a  large 
following  in  Germany  as  well  as  in  France,  and  there  were 
not  wanting  distinguished  German  accoucheurs  who  fol- 
lowed Mme.  Bovin's  teachings  to  the  letter. 

The  remarkable  German  and  French  women  just  named 
were  all  practically  self-made  women.  They  won  fame  as 
they  had  acquired  knowledge — chiefly  by  courage,  in  spite 
of  the  countless  obstacles  that  beset  their  paths.  They 
owed  nothing  to  schools  or  universities,  nothing  to  govern- 
ment patronage  or  assistance,  nothing  to  the  medical  fra- 
ternity as  a  whole.  Universities  would  not  admit  them  to 
their  lecture  rooms  or  laboratories,  and  the  various  medical 
faculties  opposed  them  as  intruders  into  their  jealously 
guarded  domain,  and  as  competitors  whose  aspirations 
were  to  be  frustrated,  whatever  the  means  employed.  It 
is  true  that,  when  some  of  the  women  mentioned  had  won 
world-wide  renown  by  their  achievements,  they  were  made 
the  recipients  of  belated  honors  by  certain  universities  and 
learned  societies;  but  these  societies  and  universities  were 
then  honoring  themselves  as  much  as  the  women  who  re- 
ceived their  degrees  and  diplomas  of  membership. 

How  different  it  was  in  Italy,  which,  since  the  fall  of  the 
Roman  Empire,  has  ever  been  in  the  van  of  civilization, 
and  which  has  always  continued  the  best  traditions  of 
Grseco-Roman  learning  and  culture — Italy,  which  has  been 
the  home  of  such  supreme  masters  of  literature,  science, 
art  as  Dante,  Petrarch,  Galileo,  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  Ra- 
phael, Michaelangelo,  Brunnelleschi — Italy,  the  mother  of 
universities,  the  birthplace  of  the  Renaissance,  and  the 
recognized  leader  of  intellectual  progress  among  the  nations 
of  the  world.  Here  in  the  favored  land  of  the  Muses  and 
the  Graces,  women  enjoyed  all  the  rights  and  privileges 
accorded  to  men ;  here  the  doors  of  schools  and  universities 
were  open  to  all  regardless  of  sex;  and  art,  science,  liter- 
ature, law,  medicine,  jurisprudence  counted  its  votaries 


296  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

among  women  as  well  as  among  men;  here,  far  from  en- 
countering jealousy  and  opposition  in  the  pursuit  of  knowl- 
edge or  in  the  practice  of  the  professions,  women  never 
found  aught  but  generous  emulation  and  sympathetic  co- 
operation. 

For  a  thousand  years  women  were  welcomed  into  the 
arena  of  learning  and  culture  on  the  same  footing  as  men. 
In  Salerno,  Bologna,  Padua,  Pavia,  they  competed  for  the 
same  honors  and  were  contestants  for  the  same  prizes  that 
stimulated  the  exertions  of  the  sterner  sex.  Position  and 
emolument  were  the  guerdons  of  merit  and  ability,  and  the 
victor,  whether  man  or  woman,  was  equally  acclaimed  and 
showered  with  equal  honor.  Women  asked  for  no  favors 
in  the  intellectual  arena  and  expected  none.  All  they  de- 
sired were  the  same  opportunities  and  the  same  privileges 
as  were  granted  the  men,  and  these  were  never  denied  them. 
From  the  time  when  Trotula  taught  in  Salerno  to  the 
present,  when  Giuseppina  Catani  is  professor  of  general 
pathology  in  the  medical  faculty  of  Bologna,  the  women  of 
Italy  always  had  access  to  the  universities  and  were  at 
liberty  to  follow  any  course  of  study  they  might  elect.  We 
thus  find  them  achieving  distinction  in  civil  and  canon 
law,  in  medicine,  in  theology  even,  as  well  as  in  art,  sci- 
ence, literature,  philosophy  and  linguistics.  No  depart- 
ment of  knowledge  had  any  terrors  for  them,  and  there 
Avas  none  in  which  some  of  them  did  not  win  undying  fame. 
They  held  chairs  of  language,  jurisprudence,  philosophy, 
physics,  mathematics,  medicine  and  anatomy,  and  filled 
these  positions  with  such  marked  ability  that  they  com- 
manded the  admiration  and  applause  of  all  who  heard  them. 

This  is  not  the  place  to  tell  of  the  triumphs  of  the  women 
professors  in  the  Italian  universities,  or  to  recount  the 
achievements  of  those  who  were  honored  with  degrees 
within  their  classic  walls.  Let  it  suffice  to  recall  the  names 
of  a  few  of  those  who  Won  renown  in  medicine  and  sur- 


WOMEN    IN    MEDICINE    AND    SURGERY    297 

gery  and  whose  names  are  still  in  their  own  land  pro- 
nounced with  respect  and  veneration. 

I  One  of  the  most  noted  practitioners  in  Southern  Italy, 
after  the  death  of  Trotula  and  her  compeers,  was  one 
Margarita,  who  had  studied  medicine  in  Salerno.  One  of 
her  patients  was  no  less  a  personage  than  Ladislaus,  King 
of  Naples.  Among  those  that  had  diplomas  for  the  prac- 
tice of  surgery  were  Maria  Incarnata,  of  Naples,  and 
Thomasia  de  Matteo,  of  Castro  Isiae. 

That  women  enjoyed  in  Rome  the  same  privileges  in  the 
practice  of  medicine  and  surgery  as  their  sisters  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  peninsula  is  manifest  from  an  edict 
issued  by  Pope  Sixtus  IV  in  confirmation  of  a  law  promul- 
gated by  the  Medical  Faculty  of  Rome,  which  reads  as 
follows:  "No  man  or  woman,  whether  Christian  or  Jew, 
unless  he  be  a  master  or  a  licentiate  in  medicine,  shall  pre- 
sume to  treat  the  human  body  either  as  a  physician  or  as 
a  surgeon."1 

In  central  and  northern  Italy — in  Florence,  Turin, 
Padua,  Venice — as  well  as  in  the  southern  part,  we  find 
constantly  recurring  instances  of  women  practicing  medi- 
cine and  surgery  and  winning  for  themselves  an  enviable 
reputation  as  successful  practitioners. 

But  after  the  decline  of  Salerno,  consequent  on  the 
establishment  by  Frederick  II  of  a  school  of  medicine  in 
Naples,  the  great  center  of  medicine  and  surgery,  as  of  civil 
and  canon  law,  was  Bologna.2     So  renowned  did  it  become 

1 ' '  Nemo  masculus  aut  f oemina,  seu  Christianus  vel  Judseus,  nisi 
Magister  vel  Licentiatus  in  Medicina  foret,  auderet  humano  corpori 
mederi  in  physica  vel  in  chyrurgia. "  Marini,  Archiatri  Pontifici, 
Tom.  I,  p.  199,  Eoma,  1784. 

2  Thomas  Aquinas,  the  Angel  of  the  Schools,  who  had  taught  in 
Salerno,  and  was  well  acquainted  with  the  leading  universities  of 
Europe,  was  wont  to  say  '  *  Quattuor  sunt  urbes  cseteris  praeeminentes, 
Parisius  in  Scientiis,  Salernum  in  Medicinis,  Bononia  in  legibus, 
Aurelianis  in  actoribus — "  there  are  four  preeminent  cities:  Paris, 


298  JVOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

as  a  teaching  and  intellectual  center  that  it  was,  as  Sarti 
informs  us,  known  throughout  Europe  as  Civitas  Docta — 
the  learned  city — and  Mater  Studiorum — the  mother  of 
studies.  On  its  coins  were  stamped  the  words  Bononia 
Docet — Bologna  teaches — and  on  the  city  seal,  which  is  still 
used  for  certain  public  documents,  were  the  words  Legum 

ononia  Mater — Bologna,  the  Mother  of  Laws. 

Here,  more  than  in  Salerno,  more  than  in  any  other  city 
in  the  world,  was,  for  long  centuries,  witnessed  a  blooming 
of  female  genius  that  has,  since  the  time  of  Gratian  and 
Irnerius,  given  the  University  of  Bologna  preeminence  in 
the  estimation  of  all  friends  of  woman's  education  and 
woman's  culture.  For  here,  within  the  walls  of  what  was 
for  centuries  the  most  celebrated  university  in  Christen- 
dom, women  had,  for  the  first  time,  an  opportunity  of 
devoting  themselves  at  will  to  the  study  of  any  and  all 
branches  of  knowledge.  And  it  can  be  truthfully  affirmed 
that  no  seat  of  learning  can  point  to  such  a  long  list  of 
eminent  scholars  and  teachers  among  the  gentler  sex  as  is 
to  be  found  on  the  register  of  Bologna 's  famous  university. 
For  here,  to  name  only  a  few,  achieved  distinction,  either 
as  students  or  as  professors,  such  noted  women  as  Bitisia 
Gozzadina,  Bettina  and  Novella  Calendrini,  Dorotea  Boc- 
chi,  Giovanna  and  Maddalena  Bianchetti,  Virginia  Mal- 
vezzi,  Maria  Vittoria  Dosi,  Elisabetta  Sirani,  Ippolita 
Grassi,  Properzia  de  Bossi,  Maria  Mastellagri,  Laura  Bassi, 
Maddelena  Noe-Candedi,  Clotilda  Tambroni*  and  Anna 
Manzolini.    In  this  honor  list  we  have  a  group  of  savantes 

in  the  sciences;  Salerno,  in  medicine;  Bologna,  in  law;  Orleans, 
in  actors.    Op.  17.  Be  Virtutibus  et  Vitiis,  Cap.  ult. 

The  mediaeval  poet,  Galfrido,  expressed  the  same  idea  in  verse 
when  he  wrote: 

"In  morbis  sanat  medici  virtute  Salernum 
iEgros:  in  causis  Bononia  legibus  armat 
Nudos:  Parisius  dispensat  in  artibus  illos 
Panes,  unde  cibat  robustos:    Aurelianis 
Educat  in  cunis  actorum  lacte  tenellos.,, 


WOMEN    IN    MEDICINE    AND    SURGERY    299 

that  were  famed  throughout  Europe  for  their  attainments 
in  law,  philosophy,  science,  ancient  and  modern  languages, 
medicine,  and  surgery — the  rivals,  and  sometimes  the 
superiors,  in  scholarship  of  the  ablest  men  among  their 
distinguished  colleagues. 

It  would  be  a  pleasure  to  recount  the  achievements  of 
these  justly  celebrated  daughters  of  Italy;  but  lack  of 
space  precludes  the  mention  of  more  than  one  of  them. 
This  was  Maria  dalle  Donne,  who  was  born  of  poor  peas- 
ants near  Bologna,  and  who  at  an  early  age  exhibited  in- 
telligence of  a  superior  order.  After  pursuing  her  studies 
under  the  ablest  masters,  she  obtained  from  the  University 
of  Bologna,  maxima  cum  laude,  the  degree  of  doctor  in 
philosophy  and  medicine.  On  account  of  her  knowledge  of 
surgery,  as  well  as  of  medicine,  she  was  soon  afterward  put 
in  charge  of  the  city's  school  for  midwives.  When  Na- 
poleon, in  1802,  passed  through  Bologna  he  was  so  struck 
by  the  exceptional  ability  of  the  young  dottoressa  that,  on 
the  recommendation  of  the  savant  Caterzani,  he  had  insti- 
tuted for  her  in  the  university  a  chair  of  obstetrics — a 
position  which  she  held  until  the  time  of  her  death,  in 
1842,  with  the  greatest  credit  to  herself  and  to  the  institu- 
tion with  which  she  was  identified. 

Maria  dalle  Donne  is  a  worthy  link  between  that  long 
line  of  women  doctors,  beginning  with  Trotula,  who  have 
so  honored  their  sex  in  Italy,  and  those  still  more  numer- 
ous practitioners  in  the  healing  art  who,  shortly  after  her 
death,  began  to  spring  up  in  all  parts  of  the  civilized 
world.1 

i  It  may  be  remarked  that  it  was  a  woman,  Lady  Mary  Montagu, 
who  introduced  inoculation  with  small-pox  virus  into  Western  Europe, 
and  that  it  was  also  a  woman — a  simple  English  milkmaid — who 
communicated  to  Jenner  the  information  which  led  to  his  discovery 
of  a  prophylactic  against  small-pox.  But  of  far  greater  importance 
was  the  introduction  into  Europe  of  that  priceless  febrifuge  and 
antiperiodic — chinchona  bark.  This  was  due  to  the  Countess  of 
Chinchon,  vicereine  of  Peru.     Having  been  cured  by  its  virtues  of  an 


300  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

For  it  was  about  this  time  that  the  movement  which  had 
long  been  agitated  in  behalf  of  the  higher  education  of 
women  began  suddenly  to  assume  extraordinary  vitality, 
not  only  throughout  Europe  but  in  America  as  well.  And 
to  no  women  did  this  movement  appeal  so  strongly  as  to 
those  who  had  long  been  looking  forward  to  an  opportunity 
to  qualify  themselves  for  the  learned  professions,  especially 
medicine.  No  sooner  did  they  descry  the  first  flush  of  dawn 
on  their  long-deferred  hopes  than  they  began  to  consider 
ways  and  means  for  putting  their  fondly  nurtured  projects 
into  execution. 

Seven  years,  almost  to  the  day,  after  the  death  of  Maria 
dalle  Donne,  Miss  Elizabeth  Blackwell,  a  young  woman  in 
America,  of  English  birth,  decided  to  enter  college  with  a 
view  of  studying  medicine  and  surgery.  But,  at  the  very 
outset,  she  encountered  all  kinds  of  unforeseen  difficulties 
— difficulties  that  would  have  caused  a  less  courageous  and 
determined  woman  to  give  up  her  plans  in  despair.  She 
was  told,  in  the  first  place,  that  it  was  highly  improper 
for  a  woman  to  study  medicine  and  that  no  decent  woman 
would  think  of  becoming  a  medical  practitioner.  As  to  a 
lady  studying  or  practicing  surgery  that,  of  course,  was  out 
of  the  question. 

But  a  more  serious  obstacle  than  the  conventionalities  in 
the  case  was  the  difficulty  of  finding  a  medical  college  that 
was  willing  to  admit  a  woman  to  its  lecture  rooms  and 
laboratories.  Miss  Blackwell  applied  to  more  than  a  dozen 
aggravated  case  of  tertian  fever  in  1638,  while  living  in  Lima,  she 
lost  no  time,  on  her  return  to  Spain,  in  making  known  to  the  world 
the  marvelous  curative  properties  of  the  precious  quinine-producing 
bark.  The  powder  made  from  the  bark  was  most  appropriately  called 
Pulvis  ComitesscB — the  countess's  powder — and  by  this  name  it  was 
long  known  to  druggists  and  in  commerce.  Thanks  to  Linnaeus,  the 
memory  of  the  gracious  lady  will  always  be  kept  green/  because  her 
name  is  now  borne  by  nearly  eight  score  species  of  the  beautiful 
trees  which  constitute  the  great  and  incomparable  genus  Chinchona. 
See  A  Memoir  of  the  Lady  Ana  de  Osorio,  Countess  of  Chinchon, 
and  Vice-Queen  of  Peru,  by  Clements  R.  Markham,  London,  1874. 


WOMEN    IN    MEDICINE    AND    SURGERY    301 

of  the  leading  institutions  of  America,  and  received  a  posi- 
tive refusal  to  her  request.  Finally,  when  hope  had  almost 
vanished,  she  received  word  from  a  small  college  in  Geneva, 
New  York,  announcing  that  her  application  had  been  favor- 
ably considered  and  that  she  would  be  admitted  as  a  stu- 
dent whenever  she  presented  herself. 

The  truth  is  that  the  faculty  of  the  college  was  opposed 
to  the  young  woman's  admission,  but  wished  to  escape  the 
odium  incident  to  a  direct  refusal  by  referring  the  ques- 
tion to  the  class  with  a  proviso  which,  it  was  believed, 
would  necessarily  exclude  her.  ' '  But  in  this  it  was  greatly 
surprised  and  disappointed.  For  the  entire  medical  class, 
to  the  number  of  about  one  hundred  and  fifty,  decided 
unanimously  in  favor  of  the  fair  applicant's  admission. 
And  they  did  more  than  this.  They  put  themselves  on 
record  regarding  the  equality  of  educational  opportunities 
for  women  and  men  in  a  way  that  must  have  put  their 
timid  professors  to  shame.  Their  resolution,  accompanying 
an  invitation  to  the  young  woman  to  become  a  member  of 
the  student  body,  was  worded  as  follows: 

"  *  Resolved,  That  one  of  the  radical  principles  of  a  re- 
publican government  is  the  universal  education  of  both 
sexes ;  that  to  every  branch  of  scientific  education  the  door 
should  be  equally  open  to  all;  that  the  application  of 
Elizabeth  Blackwell  to  become  a  member  of  our  class  meets 
our  entire  approbation,  and,  in  extending  our  unanimous 
invitation,  we  pledge  ourselves  that  no  conduct  of  ours 
shall  cause  her  to  regret  her  attendance  at  this  institu- 
tion.' " 

The  students  were  as  good  as  their  word.  Their  conduct, 
as  Miss  Blackwell  wrote  years  afterward,  was  always  ad- 
mirable and  that  of  "true  Christian  gentlemen."  But  the 
women  of  Geneva  were  shocked  at  the  female  medical  stu- 
dent. They  stared  at  her  as  a  curious  animal;  and  the 
theory  was  fully  established  that  she  was  "either  a  bad 
woman,  whose  designs  would  gradually  become  evident,  or 


302  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

that,  being  insane,  an  outbreak  of  insanity  would  soon  be 
apparent. ' n 

In  due  time  Miss  Blaekwell  finished  her  course  in  medi- 
cine and  surgery,  and  graduated  at  the  head  of  her  class. 
The  orator  of  the  day,  who  was  a  member  of  the  faculty, 
naturally  referred  to  the  new  departure  that  had  been 
made — the  admission  of  a  woman  for  the  first  time  to  a 
complete  medical  education — and  among  other  things  de- 
clared that  the  experiment,  of  which  every  member  of  the 
faculty  was  proud,  * '  had  proved  that  the  strongest  intellect 
and  nerve  and  the  most  untiring  perseverance  were  com- 
patible with  the  softest  attributes  of  feminine  delicacy  and 
grace. '  f 2 

The  awarding  of  the  degree  of  M.D.  for  the  first  time  to 
a  woman  in  America  excited  general  comment  and  wide- 
spread interest,  not  only  in  the  United  States,  but  in 
Europe  as  well.  The  public  press  was  not  unfavorable  in 
its  opinion  of  the  new  departure,  and  even  Punch  could 
not  resist  writing  some  verses,  sympathetic,  albeit  humor- 
ous, in  honor  of  the  fair  M.D.3 

i  Pioneer  Work  in  Opening  the  Medical  Profession  to  Women, 
p.  70,  by  Dr.  Elizabeth  Blaekwell,  London,  1895.  2  ibid.,  p.  91. 

s ' '  Young  ladies  all,  of  every  clime, 
Especially  of  Britain 
Who  wholly  occupy  your  time 

In  novels  or  in  knitting, 
Whose  highest  skill  is  but  to  play, 

Sing,  dance  or  French  to  clack  well, 
Reflect  on  the  example,  pray, 
Of  excellent  Miss  Blaekwell. 


"For  Doctrix  Blaekwell,  that's  the  way 

To  dub  in  rightful  gender — 
In  her  profession,  ever  may 

Prosperity  attend  her. 
Punch  a  gold-headed  parasol 

Suggests  for  presentation 
To  one  so  well  deserving  all 

Esteem  and  Admiration. ' ' 


WOMEN    IN    MEDICINE    AND    SURGERY    303 

After  spending  some  time  abroad  studying  in  the  great 
hospitals  of  Europe,  Miss  Blackwell  started  the  practice  of 
medicine  in  New  York  City.  At  first,  as  she  declares  in 
her  autobiographical  sketches,  it  was  ' '  very  difficult,  though 
steady,  uphill  work.  I  had, ' '  she  tells  us, ' '  no  medical  com- 
panionship, the  profession  stood  aloof,  and  society  was  dis- 
trustful of  the  innovation. " 

The  aloofness  of  the  profession  arose  from  a  dread  of 
successful  rivalry,  and  the  men  did  not  wish  to  encourage 
"the  invasion  by  women  of  their  own  preserves."  "You 
cannot  expect  us,"  one  of  them  frankly  admitted  to  her, 
! '  to  furnish  you  with  a  stick  to  break  our  heads  with. ' ' 

But,  undeterred  by  opposition,  Miss  Blackwell  continued 
her  work,  daily  making  converts  to  the  new  movement  and 
receiving  substantial  aid,  as  well  as  sympathetic  coopera- 
tion, from  many  people,  both  men  and  women,  prominent 
in  society  and  public  life.  In  1854  she  started  a  free  dis- 
pensary for  poor  women.  Three  years  later  she  founded 
a  hospital  for  women  and  children,  where  young  women 
physicians  as  well  as  patients  could  be  received.  These 
were  the  humble  beginnings  of  the  present  flourishing  insti- 
tutions known  as  the  New  York  Infirmary  and  the  College 
for  Women.  And  in  less  than  ten  years  after  her  gradu- 
ation, Miss  Blackwell  saw  the  new  departure  in  medical 
practice  successfully  established,  not  only  in  New  York, 
but  also  in  other  large  cities  of  the  United  States.  In 
1869  the  early  pioneer  medical  work  by  women  in  America 
was  completed. 

"During  the  twenty  years  which  followed  the  gradua- 
tion of  the  first  woman  physician,  the  public  recognition; 
of  the  justice  and  advantage  of  such  a  measure  had  stead- 
ily grown.  Throughout  the  northern  states  the  free  and 
equal  entrance  of  women  into  the  profession  of  medicine 
was  secured.  In  Boston,  New  York  and  Philadelphia  spe- 
cial medical  schools  for  women  were  sanctioned  by  the 


304  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

legislatures,  and  in  some  long-established  colleges  women 
were  received  as  students  in  the  ordinary  classes."1 

Meanwhile,  the  women  in  Europe  were  not  idle  nor  heed- 
less of  the  example  set  by  their  brave  sisters  in  America. 
The  University  of  Zurich  threw  open  its  portals  to  women, 
and  was  soon  followed  by  those  of  Bern  and  Geneva.  The 
first  woman  to  obtain  a  degree  in  medicine  in  Zurich — it 
was  in  1867 — was  Nadejda  Suslowa,  a  Russian.  She  was 
soon  followed  by  scores  of  others  from  Europe  and  Amer- 
ica, who  found  greater  advantages  and  more  sympathy  in 
Swiss  universities  than  elsewhere. 

In  1869  the  Medico-Chirurgical  Academy  of  St.  Peters- 
burg conferred  the  degree  of  M.D.  upon  Madame  Kasche- 
warow,  the  first  female  candidate  for  this  honor.  When 
her  name  was  mentioned  by  the  dean  it  was  received  with 
an  immense  storm  of  applause  which  lasted  several  min- 
utes. The  ceremony  of  investing  her  with  the  insignia  of 
her  dignity  being  over,  her  fellow  students  and  colleagues 
lifted  her  on  a  chair  and  carried  her  with  triumphant 
shouts  throughout  the  halls. 

The  first  woman  graduate  from  the  University  of  France 
was  Miss  Elizabeth  Garrett,  of  England.  She  received  her 
degree  in  medicine  in  1870,  and  the  following  year  the 
same  institution  conferred  the  doctor's  degree  on  Miss 
Mary  C.  Putnam,  of  New  York. 

After  these  precedents  had  been  established,  the  uni- 
versities of  the  various  countries  on  the  continent,  follow- 
ing the  examples  set  by  those  in  the  United  States  and 
Switzerland,  opened  one  after  the  other  their  doors  to 
women,  and  in  most  of  them  accorded  them  all  the  privi- 
leges of  cives  academici  enjoyed  by  the  men. 

Great  Britain  held  out  against  the  new  movement  long 

after  most  of  the  continental  countries  had  fallen  into  line, 

nor  did  she  surrender  until  after  a  protracted  and  bitter 

fight,   during  which  the  men  leading  the  opposition  ex- 

i  Op.  cit.,  p.  241. 


WOMEN    IN    MEDICINE    AND    SURGERY    305 

hibited  evidences  of  selfishness  and  obscurantism  that  now 
seem  incredible. 

The  leader  in  Great  Britain  of  pioneer  medical  work  for 
women  was  Miss  Sophia  Jex-Blake,  whose  academic  path- 
way was  beset  with  difficulties  far  sterner  than  had  in  the 
United  States  confronted  her  friend  and  colleague,  Miss 
Blackwell. 

Hearing  much  of  the  tolerance  and  liberality  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  London,  she  applied  to  it  for  admission  as  a 
student,  but  was  informed  at  once  that  the  charter  of  the 
institution  "had  purposely  been  so  worded  as  to  exclude 
the  possibility  of  examining  women  for  medical  degrees." 

After  this  rebuff  she  made  application  to  the  University 
of  Edinburgh,  which,  like  the  other  Scotch  universities, 
had  always  boasted  of  its  broad-mindedness  and  freedom 
from  educational  trammels.  She  was  received  provision- 
ally, and  was,  after  a  while,  joined  by  six  other  women 
who  had  in  view  the  same  object  as  herself.  For  a  time, 
notwithstanding  opposition  from  certain  quarters,  every- 
thing was  quiet  and  apparently  satisfactory.  But  the 
gathering  storm  soon  broke,  and  the  seven  young  women, 
as  they  were  one  day  entering  the  university  gates,  were 
actually  mobbed  by  a  ruffianly  band  of  students  who  had 
all  along  been  opposed  to  the  presence  of  women  in  the 
class  and  lecture  rooms.  They  pelted  the  helpless  females 
with  street  mud  and  hurled  at  them  all  the  vile  epithets 
and  heaped  upon  them  all  the  abuse  that  their  foul  tongues 
could  command.  These  outrageous  proceedings  on  the  part 
of  the  rabble  of  rowdies  were  allowed  to  continue  for  sev- 
eral days,  and,  had  it  not  been  for  a  brave  band  of  chival- 
rous young  Irishmen  among  the  students,  who  formed 
themselves  into  a  bodyguard  for  the  protection  of  their  fair 
classmates,  and  were,  in  consequence,  known  as  ' '  The  Irish 
Brigade,"  the  hapless  women  students  would  not  have 
escaped  bodily  harm.  What  a  marked  contrast  between 
the  conduct  toward  Miss  Blackwell  of  the  gallant  students 


306  [WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

of  the  modest  little  American  town  and  that  of  the  cow- 
ardly ruffians  of  the  vaunted  ' '  Athens  of  the  North ! ' ' 

But  this  was  not  all.  The  seven  young  women  in  ques- 
tion had  matriculated  as  students  of  the  university  with 
the  understanding  that  they  were  to  have  all  the  rights 
and  privileges  of  the  male  students.  But  after  the  dis- 
graceful conduct  of  the  mob  just  referred  to,  they  discov- 
ered that  the  authorities  of  the  university  were  prepared 
to  break  faith  with  them,  and  prevent  them  from  getting 
their  coveted  degrees,  and  thus  debar  them  from  all  chance 
of  medical  practice. 

The  reason  why  the  university  was  induced  to  annul  its 
contract,  after  the  women  on  their  part  had  fully  complied 
with  all  its  stipulations,  soon  became  apparent.  It  was 
purely  and  simply  to  make  it  impossible  for  women  to 
secure  a  license  as  medical  practitioners.  Both  in  and 
outside  of  Edinburgh  the  conviction  daily  grew  stronger 
that  women  doctors  were  a  menace  to  the  monopoly  so  long 
enjoyed  by  the  medical  fraternity,  and  that  the  movement 
in  their  favor  should  be  crushed  by  fair  means  or  foul 
before  it  got  beyond  control.  The  Spectator  made  this  clear 
by  stating  at  the  time  of  the  controversy  that  "every  pro- 
fession in  this  country' ' — England — "is  more  or  less  of  a 
trades  union/ '  and  yet  the  members  of  these  professions 
"would  shake  their  heads  and  prate  about  the  necessity 
of  stamping  out  trades  unionism  among  workmen.'' 
"Women,"  whined  one  of  the  doctors,  "would  snatch  the 
bread  from  the  mouths  of  poor  practitioners."  Another 
doctor  who  had  championed  the  cause  of  women  physi- 
cians, when  commenting  on  the  hypocritical  objection  that 
it  was  unbecoming  for  women  to  practice  medicine  or  sur- 
gery, expressed  the  same  idea  in  other  words.  "It  ap- 
pears," he  declared,  "that  it  is  most  becoming  and  proper 
for  a  woman  to  discharge  all  the  duties  which  are  inci- 
dental to  our  profession  for  thirty  shillings  a  week ;  but,  if 
she  is  to  have  three  or  four  guineas  a  day  for  discharging 


WOMEN    IN    MEDICINE    AND    SURGERY    307 

the  same  duties,  then  they  are  immoral  and  immodest  and 
unsuited  to  the  soft  nature  that  should  characterize  a 
lady." 

After  Miss  Jex-Blake  and  her  companions  learned  that 
the  university  was  determined  to  refuse  them  the  degrees 
to  which  they  were  entitled,  they  brought  suit  against  it  for 
breach  of  contract.  But,  after  a  long  and  expensive  trial, 
the  judge  rendered  a  decision  against  them.  They  then 
appealed  to  Parliament,  and,  after  a  protracted  and  strenu- 
ous campaign  on  the  part  of  friends  whom  they  had  en- 
listed in  their  cause,  they  saw  their  opponents  not  only 
dragged  at  the  chariot  wheels  of  progress  but  forced  to 
help  to  turn  them;  for,  in  1878,  after  nearly  ten  years  of 
a  persistent,  continuous  struggle  such  as  had  rarely  been 
witnessed  in  woman's  long  battle  for  things  of  the  mind — 
a  struggle  in  which  the  intrepid,  dauntless  Miss  Jex-Blake 
"made  the  greatest  of  all  the  contributions  to  the  end  at- 
tained"— the  women  of  Great  Britain  had  the  supreme 
satisfaction  of  winning  what  was  probably  the  most  glori- 
ous victory  which  their  sex  had  ever  won.1  The  war 
was  over  and  henceforward  they  were  free — as  were  their 
sisters  in  other  parts  of  the  world — as  the  women  in  Italy 
had  been  for  a  thousand  years — to  devote  themselves  at 
will  to  the  study  and  practice  of  the  healing  art  without 
let  or  hindrance. 

"What  a  wonderful  change  has  taken  place  in  the  medi- 
cal world  almost  within  the  space  of  a  single  generation! 
The  tiny  grain  of  mustard  that  was  sown  by  two  lone 
women,  the  Misses  Blackwell  and  Jex-Blake,  in  their 
chosen  field  of  effort  has  grown  and  ' '  waxed  a  great  tree. ' ' 

1  For  an  interesting  account  of  the  long  campaign  for  the  ad- 
mission of  women  to  medical  schools  and  practice,  see  Medical 
Women — A  Thesis  and  a  History,  by  Dr.  Sophia  Jex-Blake,  Edin- 
burgh, 1886. 

For  a  more  elaborate  work  on  women  in  medicine,  the  reader  may 
consult  with  profit,  Histoire  des  Femmes  Medecins,  by  Mile.  Melanie 
Lepinska,  Paris,  1900. 


308  >VOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

Women  doctors  are  now  found  in  all  parts  of  the  civilized 
world  and  are  numbered  by  thousands.  And  so  great  has 
been  their  professional  success,  so  widespread  is  the  desire 
to  secure  their  services,  especially  in  countries  like  Amer- 
ica and  England,  where  opposition  was  in  the  beginning 
especially  bitter,  that  the  proportion  of  women  practition- 
ers in  medicine  and  surgery  is  now  regarded  as  the  best 
index  of  a  nation's  enlightenment. 

The  healing  art  of  Greece  and  Rome  has  broadened  out 
into  the  noble  sciences  of  medicine  and  surgery  of  to-day. 
For,  based  as  they  now  are  on  the  sciences  of  chemistry, 
botany,  biology,  hygiene,  physiology,  anatomy  and  bacteri- 
ology, which  have  all  .witnessed  such  extraordinary  devel- 
opments during  the  last  half  century,  they  both  deserve  a 
preeminent  place  in  the  history  of  the  sciences.  And  the 
success  which  has  crowned  woman's  efforts  in  surgery  and 
medicine  is  not  only  a  conclusive  indication  of  her  capac- 
ity, so  long  denied  by  her  self-interested  opponents,  but 
also  the  most  convincing  indication  that  she  is  at  last 
properly  occupied  in  a  field  of  activity  from  which  she 
was  too  long  excluded.  Her  contributions  as  writer  and 
investigator  toward  the  progress  of  both  sciences,  even  dur- 
ing the  short  time  in  which  she  has  been  able  to  give  proof 
of  her  ability,  have  been  notable  and  augur  well  for  the 
share  she  will  have  in  their  future  advancement.  But 
more  important  still  is  the  refining  influence  she  has  al- 
ready exerted  on  both  professions,  and  the  relief  she  has 
been  able  to  afford  to  countless  thousands  of  her  own  sex 
who  would  otherwise  have  been  the  voluntary  victims  of 
untold  misery.  Women  doctors  are,  indeed,  not  only 
worthy  representatives  of  ^Esculapia  Vietrix  and  of  the 
two  sciences  which  they  have  so  elevated  and  so  ennobled, 
but  are  also  ministering  angels  to  poor,  suffering  human- 
ity comparable  only  with  the  heroic  Sisters  of  Charity  and 
the  devoted  nurses  of  the  Red  Cross. 


CHAPTER   IX 
WOMEN  IN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

Archaeology,  in  its  broadest  sense,  is  one  of  the  most 
recent  of  the  sciences,  and  may  be  said  to  be  a  creation 
of  the  nineteenth  century.  In  its  restricted  sense,  how- 
ever, it  dates  back  to  the  beginning  of  the  Italian  Renais- 
sance. For  it  was  at  this  period  that  the  collector's  zeal 
began  to  manifest  itself,  and  that  were  brought  together 
those  priceless  treasures  of  ancient  art  which  are  to-day 
the  pride  of  the  museums  of  Rome  and  Florence.  It  was 
then  that  Pope  Sixtus  IV  and  Julius  II,  his  nephew,  laid 
the  foundations  of  the  great  museums  of  the  Capitol  and 
the  Vatican,  and  enriched  them  with  such  famous  master- 
pieces as  the  Ariadne,  the  Nile,  the  Tiber,  the  Laocoon  and 
the  Apollo  Belvidere.  Their  example  was  quickly  followed 
by  such  cardinals  as  Ippolito  d'Este,  Fernando  de'  Medici, 
and  by  representatives  of  the  leading  princely  houses  of 
the  Italian  peninsula.  In  rapid  succession  the  palaces  of 
the  Borghese,  Chigi,  Pamphili,  Ludovisi,  Barbarini  and 
Aldobrandini  became  filled  with  the  choicest  Greek  and 
Roman  antiques.  In  the  course  of  time  many  of  these 
treasures  found  their  way  to  the  museums  of  Venice,  Ma- 
drid, Paris,  Munich  and  Dresden,  while  still  others  were 
purchased  by  wealthy  art  connoisseurs  in  various  parts  of 
Europe  and  Great  Britain. 

In  the  beginning  these  antiques  in  marble  and  bronze 
were  used  chiefly  for  decorative  purposes.  ' '  Courts,  stairs, 
fountains,  galleries  and  palaces  were  adorned  with  statues, 
busts,  reliefs  and  sarcophagi  applied  in  such  a  manner  as 

.309 


810  tWOMAN   IN    SCIENCE 

to  become  incorporated  in  contemporary  art  and  thereby 
to  gain  fresh  life."1 

These  treasures  of  antiquity,  statues,  bas-reliefs,  mosaics, 
coins,  medals,  busts,  sarcophagi,  and  productions  of  ceramic 
art,  although  at  first  used  almost  exclusively  for  decorating 
palaces  and  villas  and  enriching  museums,  were  eventually 
to  become  of  inestimable  value  in  the  study  of  the  history 
of  art  and  the  civilization  of  Greece  and  Rome,  as  well  as 
of  the  various  nations  of  antiquity  with  which  they  had 
come  into  contact.  Besides  this,  they  supplied  the  neces- 
sary raw  material  not  only  for  classical  archaeology,  but 
also  for  that  more  comprehensive  science  of  archaeology 
which  deals  with  the  art,  the  architecture,  the  language, 
the  literature,  the  inscriptions,  the  manners,  customs  and 
development  of  our  race  from  prehistoric  times  until  the 
present  day. 

Among  the  women  who  took  a  prominent  part  in  col- 
lecting material  toward  the  advancement  of  archaeologic 
science  were  those  illustrious  ladies — as  celebrated  for  their 
knowledge  and  culture  as  for  their  noble  lineage  and  their 
patronage  of  men  of  letters — who  presided  over  the  bril- 
liant courts  of  Urbino,  Mantua,  Milan  and  Ferrara. 

Preeminent  among  these  were  Elizabetta  Gonzaga, 
Duchess  of  Urbino,  and  Isabella  d'Este,  Marchioness  of 
Mantua.  The  palace  of  the  former — "that  peerless  lady 
who  excelled  all  others  in  excellence" — was  famous  for  its 
precious  antiques  in  bronze  and  marble,  but  above  all  for 
its  superb  collection  of  rare  old  books  and  manuscripts  in 
Greek,  Latin  and  Hebrew. 

Isabella  d'Este,  who  was  through  life  the  most  intimate 
friend  of  Elizabetta  Gonzaga,  was  acclaimed  by  her  con- 
temporaries as  "the  first  lady  in  the  world."  She  was  a 
true  daughter  of  the  Renaissance,  in  the  heart  of  which 
she  was  brought  up;  and  "the  small,  passing  incidents  of 

i  A.  Michselis,  A  Century  of  Archcedlogical  Discoveries,  p.  6,  New 
York,  1908. 


WOMEN    IN    ARCHEOLOGY  311 

her  everyday  life  are  to  us  memorials  of  the  classic  age 
when  the  gods  of  Parnassus  walked  with  men."1  She  was 
an  even  more  enthusiastic  collector  than  the  Duchess  of 
Urbino,  and  her  magnificent  palace  in  Mantua  was  filled 
with  the  choicest  works  of  Greek  and  Roman  art  that  were 
then  procurable. 

She  has  been  described  as  one  who  secured  everything 
to  which  she  took  a  fancy.  She  had  but  to  hear  of  the 
discovery  of  a  beautiful  antique,  a  rare  work  in  bronze  or 
marble  uncovered  by  the  spade  of  the  excavator,  when  she 
forthwith  made  an  effort  to  procure  it  for  her  priceless 
collection.  If  that  was  not  possible,  she  would  not  rest 
until  she  could  secure  something  else  even  more  precious. 
She  aimed  at  supremacy  in  everything  artistic  and  intel- 
lectual, and  would  be  content  with  nothing  short  of  per- 
fection. Hence  it  is  that  her  collection  of  antiques,  like 
those  of  her  friend,  the  Duchess  of  Urbino,  is  rightly 
regarded  as  having  been  of  singular  value  in  preparing 
the  way  for  the  foundation  of  scientific  archaeology — a 
foundation  that  was  laid  by  the  eminent  German  scholar, 
Winckelmann,  in  the  eighteenth  century  by  the  publication 
of  his  masterly  work — History  of  the  Art  of  Antiquity. 

The  first  woman  of  eminence  to  take  an  active  part  in 
archaaologic  excavation  was  the  youngest  sister  of  Napo- 
leon Bonaparte,  "the  beautiful,  clever  and  ambitious 
Caroline."  When  Joachim  Murat  became  king  of  Naples, 
after  his  brother-in-law,  Joseph  Bonaparte,  had  in  1808 
been  transferred  to  the  throne  of  Spain,  his  wife,  Queen 
Caroline,  gave  at  once  a  new  impetus  to  the  work  of  the  ex- 
cavation of  Pompeii  along  the  lines  planned  a  few  years  be- 
fore by  the  eminent  Neapolitan  scholar,  Michele  Arditi. 
She  exhibited  the  keenest  interest  in  the  work,  and  the 
notable  discoveries  which  were  made  under  her  inspiring 
supervision  of  this  important  undertaking  show  how  much 

i  The  Most  Illustrious  Ladies  of  the  Benaissance,  p.  152,  by 
Christopher  Hare,  London,  1904. 


312  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

classical  archaeology  owes  to  her  intelligent  and  munificent 
patronage. 

Queen  Caroline  proved  her  interest  in  the  excavations 
that  were  to  contribute  so  much  to  our  knowledge  of  an- 
tiquity "by  appearing  frequently  at  Pompeii  and  stimu- 
lating the  workmen  to  greater  efforts.  She  frequently 
spent  entire  days,  during  the  great  heat  of  summer,  at  the 
excavations,  to  encourage  the  lazy  workmen  and  to  reward 
them  in  the  event  of  success.  The  funds  were  increased 
so  as  to  make  the  employment  of  six  hundred  men  possi- 
ble. The  Street  of  Tombs  was  next  uncovered,  forming  a 
complete  and  solemn  picture,  greatly  impressing  the  be- 
holder even  to-day.  For  the  first  time  a  complete  outline 
of  an  ancient  marketplace  and  its  surroundings  could  be 
obtained.  The  market,  closed  and  inaccessible  to  wheeled 
traffic,  was  surrounded  by  a  colonnade  filled  with  monu- 
ments, with  the  great  temple  in  the  background,  and  be- 
yond the  arcades  were  other  temples  or  public  buildings, 
among  the  principal  being  the  stately  Basilica.  Constant 
and  increased  efforts  were  thus  crowned  by  important  re- 
sults. The  Queen  did  not  withhold  generous  assistance. 
The  French  architect,  Fr.  Mazois,  received  from  her  fifteen 
hundred  francs  while  preparing  his  monumental  work  at 
Pompeii."1 

It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  Queen  Caroline's  archae- 
ological work  at  Pompeii  was  as  far-reaching  in  its  results 
as  was  that  of  her  illustrious  brother  in  the  land  of  the 
Pharaohs.  It  drew  in  the  most  impressive  manner  the 
attention  of  the  world  to  the  vast  treasures  of  art  which 
lay  concealed  under  the  earth-covered  ruins  of  the  once 
noted  cities  of  the  ancient  world,  and  stimulated  scholars 
and  learned  societies  to  undertake  similar  researches  in 

i  Michaelis,  Op.  cit.,  p.  20,  Cf .  also  Fiorelli  's  Pompeinarum  An- 
tiquitatum  Eistoria,  Vol.  I,  Pars.  Ill,  Naples,  1860.  Arditi  charac- 
terized Queen  Caroline's  interest  in  the  excavations  as  " entusiasmo 
veramente  ammirabile. ' ' 


WOMEN    IN   ARCHAEOLOGY  313 

Sicily,  Greece,  Mesopotamia,  Asia  Minor,  and  the  almost 
forgotten  islands  of  the  ^Egean  Seas. 

While  this  energetic  sister  of  the  great  Napoleon  was 
occupied  in  bringing  to  light  those  priceless  treasures  of 
art  which  had  for  seventeen  centuries  lain  beneath  the 
ashes  of  Vesuvius,  a  bright,  refined,  spirituelle  young  girl, 
born  in  Dublin  and  bred  in  England,  was  unconsciously 
preparing  herself  for  a  brilliant  career  in  the  branch  of 
archeology  known  as  Christian  iconography.  Her  name 
was  Anna  Murphy,  better  known  to  the  world  as  Mrs. 
Jameson.  At  an  early  age  she  gave  evidence  of  unusual 
intelligence,  and  she  had  hardly  attained  to  womanhood 
when  she  was  noted  for  her  knowledge  of  languages  and 
for  her  remarkable  attainments  in  art  and  literature.  Nu- 
merous journeys  to  France,  Italy  and  Germany  and  a  sys- 
tematic study  in  the  great  museums  and  art  galleries  of 
these  countries,  but,  above  all,  her  association  with  the 
most  distinguished  scholars  of  Europe,  completed  her  edu- 
cation and  prepared  her  for  those  splendid  works  on  Chris- 
tian art  which  have  made  her  name  a  household  word 
throughout  the  world. 

Mrs.  Jameson  was  a  prolific  writer,  but  those  of  her 
works  on  which  her  fame  chiefly  rests  are  the  ones  which 
are  classed  under  the  general  title,  Sacred  and  Legendary 
Art.  They  treat  of  God  the  Father  and  Son,  of  the  Ma- 
donna and  the  Saints,  as  illustrated  in  art  from  the  earliest 
ages  to  modern  times.  So  masterly  and  exhaustive  was 
her  treatment  of  the  difficult  subjects  discussed  in  this 
chef  d'oeuvre  of  hers  that  no  less  an  authority  than  the 
eminent  German  archaeologist,  F.  X.  Kraus,  writes  of  this 
elaborate  production  as  follows: 

"  Neither  before  nor  since  has  the  subject  matter  of  this 
work  been  handled  with  such  skill  and  thoroughness.  The 
older  iconographic  works  were  mere  dilettanteism.  For  the 
first  time  since  classical  archaeology  had  applied  the  prin- 


314  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

ciples  of  modern  criticism  to  Greek  and  Roman  iconogra- 
phy, and  had  presented  an  example  of  scientific  treatment 
free  from  such  reproach,  was  a  serious  iconography  of  our 
early  Christian  monuments  possible.  Mrs.  Jameson  was 
the  first  to  attempt  this  on  a  large  scale.  It  was  clear  to 
her — and  here  lay  the  advance  which  her  work  reveals — 
that  in  order  to  accomplish  her  colossal  task  two  things 
must  be  realized.  She  must  not  build  on  a  foundation  of 
material  that  is  imperfect  or  brought  together  in  a  haphaz- 
ard way.  She  must  not  only  see  and  test  everything  avail- 
able in  the  way  of  monuments,  but  she  must  likewise  place 
the  productions  of  literature  and  poetry  beside  those  of  the 
plastic  arts.  It  was  clear  to  her,  also,  that,  in  this  case, 
one  would  throw  light  on  the  other,  and  that  the  investi- 
gator who  would  lay  claim  to  the  name  of  archaeologist 
must,  moreover,  study  the  spirit  of  a  people  in  all  its 
monumental  and  literary  manifestations. 

"Mrs.  Jameson  strove  to  learn  the  mind  and  the  mode 
of  early  Christian  times  from  the  works  of  the  Fathers. 
She  saw  in  the  hymns  of  the  Middle  Ages  and  in  the 
writings  of  the  mystics  the  sources  of  the  art  ideas  which 
disclose  themselves  in  the  wall  and  glass  paintings  of  our 
cathedrals  and  in  the  entrancing  creation  of  a  Fiesole.  She 
had  also  the  special  advantage  of  being  thoroughly  imbued 
with  Dante's  ideas  of  the  plastic  arts  of  the  Middle  Ages. 

"And  all  this  is  evidenced  in  a  form  which  exhibits 
neither  dry  dissertation  nor  wearisome  nomenclature. 
Each  of  her  articles  is  a  little  essay.  It  teaches  us  what 
place  the  Madonna,  or  St.  Catherine,  or  some  other  saint 
has  held  in  the  memory  and  in  the  imagination  of  past 
centuries.  We  behold  the  sainted  forms  flitting  before  our 
eyes  in  all  the  charm  of  poetic  perfection  which  was  given 
them  by  the  childlike  phantasy  of  the  Middle  Ages,  and 
in  all  the  power  which  they  exercised  over  men's  minds, 
and  which,  however  we  may  view  the  religious  side  of  the 


WOMEN    IN    ARCHAEOLOGY  315 

question,  certainly  had  the  effect  of  creating  forms  of 
infinite  beauty  and  pictures  of  unspeakable  reality."1 

When  we  recollect  that  Mrs.  Jameson  achieved  so  much 
before  the  foundations  of  Christian  archaeology  had  been 
fully  laid ;  before  de  Rossi 's  monumental  publications  had 
supplied  the  means  of  interpreting  early  Christian  sculp- 
ture; before  critics  and  archaeologists  were  at  one  regard- 
ing the  significance  of  early  Christian  and  Middle  Age 
symbolism,  or  agreed  on  the  principles  that  were  to  guide 
to  a  correct  understanding  of  the  pictures  of  Roman  and 
Gothic  art,  and  while  students  were  yet  in  ignorance  as 
to  the  real  influence  of  Byzantine  art  on  that  of  western 
Europe,  we  cannot  but  wonder  at  the  courage  and  the 
energy  of  this  gifted  woman  in  undertaking  and  in  bring- 
ing to  a  happy  issue  a  work  which,  even  to-day,  with  all 
our  increased  facilities  and  greater  array  of  facts,  would 
be  considered  a  herculean  task. 

As  we  read  her  admirable  volumes  on  Sacred  and  Legen- 
dary Art  we  can,  as  did  a  close  friend  of  hers,  see  the  en- 
raptured author  "kindle  into  enthusiasm  amidst  the  gor- 
geous natural  beauty,  the  antique  memorials  and  the  sacred 
Christian  relics  of  Italy,"  and  we  are  prepared  to  believe, 
with  the  same  friend,  that  there  was  not  ' '  a  cypress  on  the 
Roman  hills,  or  a  sunny  vine  overhanging  the  southern 
gardens,  or  a  picture  in  those  vast  somber  galleries  of  for- 
eign palaces,  or  a  catacomb  spread  out,  vast  and  dark, 
under  the  martyr  churches  of  the  City  of  the  Seven  Hills, 
which  was  not  associated  with  some  vivid  flashes  of  her 
intellect  and  imagination."  And  we  can  also  understand 
how  "the  strange,  mystic  symbolism  of  the  early  mosaics 
was  a  familiar  language  to  her,"  and  why  she  should  ex- 
perience special  delight  when  she  found  herself  "on  the 
polished  marble  of  the  Lateran  floor  or  under  the  gor- 
geously somber  tribune  of  the  Basilica  of  Santa  Maria 

1  Frauenarbeit  in  der  Archceologie  in  Deutsche  Bundschau,  March, 
1890,  page  396. 


316  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

Maggiore,  reading  off  the  quaint  emblems  or  expoundin 
the  pious  thoughts  of  more  than  a  thousand  years  ago." 

It  is  gratifying  to  know  that  Queen  Victoria  recognize 
the  surpassing  merits  of  this  noble  woman  by  placing  he 
on  the  civil  list,  and  that  our  own  Longfellow  was  abl 
to  say  of  her  masterpiece,  Sacred  and  Legendary  Art,  ' '  It 
most  amply  supplies  the  cravings  of  the  religious  sentiment 
of  the  spiritual  nature  within. ' ' 

A  countrywoman  of  Mrs.  Jameson  and  her  contempo- 
rary, who  also  deserves  an  honorable  place  in  the  literature 
of  archaeology,  is  Louise  Twining.  Although  inferior  in 
intellectual  attainments  and  literary  activity  to  the  accom- 
plished author  of  Sacred  and  Legendary*  Art,  her  two 
works  on  Types  and  Figures  of  the  Bible  Illustrated  by 
Art  and  Symbols  and  Emblems  of  Early  Mediaeval  Chris- 
tian Art  have  given  her  a  well-deserved  reputation  on  the 
Continent  as  well  as  in  the  British  Isles.  The  latter  vol- 
ume Mrs.  Jameson  herself  declares  in  her  Legends  of  the 
Madonna  to  be  "certainly  the  most  complete  and  useful 
book  of  the  kind  which  I  know  of. ' ' 

A  third  woman  who  has  won  fame  for  her  sex  in  the 
island  kingdom  in  the  domain  of  archaeology  is  Miss  Mar- 
garet Stotes.  Her  activities,  however,  have  been  chiefly 
confined  to  the  antiquities  of  Ireland,  on  which  she  is  a 
recognized  authority. 

The  notable  part  she  took  in  editing  Lord  Dunraven's 
great  work,  Notes  on  Irish  Architecture,  established  her 
reputation  on  a  firm  basis.  Among  her  other  important 
works  are  Early  Christian  Art  in  Ireland  and  Christian 
Inscriptions  in  the  Irish  Language,  chiefly  collected  and 
drawn  by  George  Petrie,  one  of  the  annual  volumes  of  the 
Royal  Historical  and  Archaeological  Association  of  Ireland. 
This  work  has  justly  been  described  as  an  epoch-making 
contribution  to  Christian  epigraphy  and  to  our  rapidly 

i  Memoirs  of  the  Life  of  Anna  Jameson,  pp.  296-297,  by  her 
niece,  Geraldine  Macpherson,  London,  1878. 


WOMEN    IN    ARCHEOLOGY  31? 

developing  knowledge  of  Keltic  language  and  literature. 
The  learned  Dr.  Krauss,  than  whom  there  is  no  more  com- 
petent judge,  in  referring  to  this  splendid  performance, 
does  not  hesitate  to  affirm, ' '  No  man  could  have  done  better 
than  this  brave  college  girl,  whom  I  would  wish  to  greet 
across  the  Channel  with  a  cordial  Made  virtute." 

The  women  archaeologists  so  far  mentioned,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  Queen  Caroline  Murat,  were  conspicuous  as  writ- 
ers rather  than  active  investigators  in  the  field.  There  have 
been,  however,  quite  a  number  who  have  won  distinction  as 
"archaeologists  of  the  spade" — women  who,  either  alone  or 
with  their  husbands,  have  superintended  excavations  in 
different  lands,  which  have  yielded  results  of  untold  scien- 
tific value.  Among  the  most  conspicuous  of  these  are  Mme. 
Sophia  Schliemann,  Mme.  Dieulafoy  and  the  enterprising 
Yankee  girl,  Miss  Harriet  A.  Boyd. 

Of  these  the  first  named  is  the  wife  of  the  late  Dr.  Henry 
Schliemann,  who  immortalized  himself  by  his  famous  ex- 
cavations at  Troy,  Tiryns  and  Mycenae — enterprises  which 
solved  for  us  the  great  problem  of  nearly  thirty  centuries 
and  demonstrated  in  the  most  startling  manner  ' '  the  truth 
of  the  foundations  on  which  was  framed  the  poetical  con- 
ception that  has  for  thousands  of  years  called  forth  the 
enchanted  delight  of  the  educated  world."  During  his 
meteoric  career  as  an  archaeologist,  Schliemann  was  able 
to  realize  the  dreams  of  his  youth,  and  succeeded  in  unveil- 
ing the  mystery  that  had  so  long  hung  over  Sacred  Ilios, 
and  to  give  the  heroes  of  the  Iliad  a  local  habitation  on  the 
rediscovered  Plain  of  Troy.  And  his  glorious  achieve- 
ments we  must  credit  largely  to  that  brave  and  devoted 
woman — his  wife — who  was  ever  at  his  side  to  share  in 
his  trials  and  labors  and  to  raise  his  dropping  spirits  in 
hours  of  depression,  or  when  hostile  criticism  treated  him 
as  a  visionary  in  the  pursuit  of  a  chimera. 

Mrs.  Schliemann  is  a  Greek  lady  who  was  born  and  bred 
under  the  shadow  of  the  Acropolis  and  a  worthy  descend- 


318  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

ant  of  those  proud  Athenian  women  who  wore  the  golden 
grasshopper  in  their  hair  as  a  sign  that  they  were  natives 
of  the  City  of  the  Violet  Crown.  She  was  not  only  dow- 
ered with  intellectual  gifts  of  a  high  order,  but  she  was 
also  her  husband's  most  congenial  companion  and  sympa- 
thetic friend  in  all  his  literary  work,  while  she  was  his 
very  right  hand  in  those  glorious  enterprises  at  Hissarlik 
and  Mycenae,  which  secured  for  both  of  them  undying 
fame. 

Dr.  Schliemann  was  the  first  to  attest  the  never-failing 
assistance  which  he  received  from  this  noble  woman  who,  as 
he  informs  us,  was  ' '  a  warm  admirer  of  Homer ' '  and  ' '  with 
glad  enthusiasm"  joined  her  husband  in  executing  the 
great  work  which  he  had  conceived  in  his  early  boyhood. 
Usually  they  worked  together,  but  at  times  Mrs.  Schlie- 
mann superintended  a  gang  of  laborers  at  one  spot  while 
the  Doctor  was  occupied  at  another  in  the  immediate  vicin- 
ity. Thus  it  was  she  who  excavated  the  heroic  tumulus  of 
Batieia  in  the  Troad — that  Batieia  who,  according  to 
Homer,  was  a  queen  of  the  Amazons  and  undertook  a 
campaign  against  Troy.1 

Mme.  Jane  Dieulafoy  is  noted  as  the  collaborator  of  her 
husband,  Marcel  Dieulafoy,  in  the  important  archaeological 
mission  to  Persia  that  was  entrusted  to  him  by  the  French 
government.     The  results  of  this  mission,  in  which  Mme. 

illios,  the  City  and  Country  of  the  Trojans,  pp.  657-658,  by  Dr. 
Henry  Schliemann,  New  York,  1881. 

As  an  illustration  of  Mrs.  Schliemann 's  devotion  to  the  work 
which  has  rendered  her,  as  well  as  her  husband,  immortal,  a  single 
passage  from  the  volume  just  quoted,  p.  261,  is  pertinent.  Eeferring 
to  the  sufferings  and  privations  which  they  endured  during  their 
third  year's  work  at   Hissarlik,  Dr.  Schliemann  writes  as  follows: 

"My  poor  wife  and  myself,  therefore,  suffered  very  much  since 
the  icy  north  wind,  which  recalls  Homer's  frequent  mention  of  the 
blasts  of  Boreas,  blew  with  such  violence  through  the  chinks  of  our 
house-walls,  which  were  made  of  planks,  that  we  were  not  even  able 
to  light  our  lamps  in  the  evening,  while  the  water  which  stood  near 


WOMEN    IN    ARCHAEOLOGY  319 

Dieuiafoy  had  a  conspicuous  part,  were  published  in  Paris 
in  1884  in  five  octavo  volumes. 

It  was  during  this  expedition  to  the  ancient  empire  of 
Cyrus  and  Artaxerxes  that  this  indefatigable  couple  be- 
came interested  in  the  ruins  of  Susa,  the  ancient  capital 
of  the  Persian  kings.  On  their  return  to  France  they  suc- 
ceeded in  securing  money  and  supplies  for  conducting  ex- 
cavations among  these  ruins  which,  in  the  end,  yielded 
results  which  were,  in  sOme  respects,  as  important  as  those 
which  rewarded  the  labors  of  the  Schliemanns  in  Greece 
and  Asia  Minor. 

So  completely  had  Susa — the  City  of  the  Lilies — been 
buried  and  forgotten  for  nearly  two  thousand  years  that 
even  its  site  was  almost  as  much  a  matter  of  dispute  as 
was  that  of  ancient  Troy.  And  yet  it  was  one  of  the 
greatest  and  richest  cities  of  antiquity — the  city  of  Esther 
and  Daniel,  the  city  of  the  mighty  Assuerus  who  reigned 
from  India  even  unto  Ethiopia,  over  a  hundred  and  twenty- 
seven  provinces — the  city  where  the  great  Alexander  cele- 
brated his  nuptials  with  Statira,  the  daughter  of  Darius, 
with  a  magnificent  festival  at  which,  according  to  Plu- 
tarch, "  there  were  no  fewer  than  nine  thousand  guests,  to 
each  of  which  he  gave  a  golden  cup  for  the  libations. ' ' 

In  December,  1884,  the  two  brave  and  venturesome  ex- 
plorers were  on  their  way  to  Susa  with,  high  hopes,  but 
not  without  a  full  knowledge  of  the  difficulties  and  dangers 
that  they  would  have  to  confront  among  the  fanatical  no- 
mads of  Arabistan,  where  the  very  name  of  Christian  in- 
spires rage  and  horror.     It  meant,  as  Mme.  Dieuiafoy  her- 

the  hearth  froze  into  solid  masses.  During  the  day  we  could,  to 
some  degree,  bear  the  cold  by  working  in  the  excavations;  but, 
in  the  evenings,  we  had  nothing  to  keep  us  warm  except  our  en- 
thusiasm for  the  great  work  of  discovering  Troy." 

So  high  was  Dr.  Schliemann's  opinion  of  his  wife's  ability  as  an 
archaeologist  that  he  entrusted  to  her — as  well  as  to  their  daughter, 
Andromache,  and  son,  Agamemnon — the  continuation  of  the  work 
which  death  prevented  him  from  completing. 


320  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

self  tells  us,  "to  cross  the  Mediterranean,  the  Bed  Sea,  the 
Indian  Ocean,  the  Persian  Gulf  and  the  deserts  of  Elam 
three  times  in  less  than  a  year ;  to  pass  whole  weeks  with- 
out undressing;  to  sleep  on  the  bare  ground;  to  struggle 
nights  and  days  against  robbers  and  thieves ;  to  cross  rivers 
without  a  bridge;  to  suffer  heat,  rain,  cold,  mists,  fever, 
fatigue,  hunger,  thirst,  the  stings  of  divers  insects;  to  lead 
this  hard  and  perilous  existence  without  being  guided  by 
any  interest  other  than  the  glory  of  one's  country."1 

In  spite,  however,  of  all  the  opposition  which  they  en- 
countered among  the  fanatical  Mussulmans  of  Arabistan 
and  of  the  dreadful  sufferings  incident  to  living  in  a  desert 
where  it  was  at  times  impossible  to  secure  the  necessaries 
of  life,  their  mission  was  successful,  and  their  account  of 
their  finds  in  the  ancient  capital  of  Elam  was  as  thrilling 
in  its  way  as  anything  reported  of  the  excavations  at  Troy 
or  Pompeii.  Their  splendid  collection  of  specimens  of  an- 
cient Persian  art  and  architecture,  now  on  exhibition  in 
the  Museum  of  the  Louvre,  testifies  to  the  successful  issue 
of  their  expedition  and  to  their  indomitable  energy  in  con- 
ducting researches  under  the  most  untoward  conditions.2 

i  See  Mme.  Dieulaf  oy  's  graphic  account  of  the  expedition  in  m 
work  which  has  been  translated  into  English  under  the  title,  At 
Susa,  the  Ancient  Capital  of  the  Kings  of  Persia,  Narrative  of 
Travel  Through  Western  Persia  and  Excavations  Made  at  the  Site 
of  the  Lost  City  of  the  Lilies,  1884-1886,  Philadelphia,  1890. 

See  also  her  other  related  work — crowned  by  the  French  Academy 
— entitled,  La  Perse,  La  Chaldee  et  la  Susiane,  Paris,  1887. 

2  Among  the  specimens  secured  were  two  of  extraordinary  beauty 
and  interest.  One  of  them  is  a  beautiful  enameled  frieze  of  a  lioni 
and  the  other,  likewise  a  work  in  enamel,  represents  a  number  of 
polychrome  figures  of  the  Immortals — the  name  given  to  the  guards 
of  the  Great  Kings  of  Persia.  Both  are  truly  magnificent  specimens 
of  ceramic  art,  and  compare  favorably  with  anything  of  the  kind 
which  antiquity  has  bequeathed  to  us.  Commenting  on  the  pictures 
of  the  Persian  guards,  Mme.  Dieulaf  oy  writes:  "Whatever  their 
race  may  be,  our  Immortals  appear  fine  in  line,  fine  in  form,  fine 
in  color  and  constitute  a  ceramic  work  infinitely  superior  to  the  bas- 
reliefs,  so  justly  celebrated,  of  Lucca  della  Eobbia. ' '  Op.  cit.,  p.  222. 


WOMEN    IN    ARCHEOLOGY  321 


So  highly  did  the  French  government  value  the  part  Mme. 
Dieulafoy  had  taken  in  this  arduous  enterprise  that  it  con- 
ferred on  her  a  distinction  rarely  awarded  to  a  woman 
for  scientific  work — that  of  Chevalier  of  the  Legion  of 
Honor. 

As  an  archaeologist,  the  gifted  and  energetic  American 
woman,  Miss  Harriet  Boyd — now  Mrs.  C.  H.  Hawes — has 
achieved  an  international  reputation  for  her  remarkable 
excavations  in  the  island  of  Crete.  She  is  a  frequent  con- 
tributor to  archaeological  journals;  but  it  is  upon  her 
splendid  work  in  the  field  that  her  fame  will  ultimately 
rest. 

Her  first  work  of  importance  was  undertaken  as  Fellow 
of  the  American  School  of  Classical  Studies  at  Athens. 
This  was  in  1900,  and  the  field  of  her  investigations  was  the 
Isthmus  of  Hierapetra  in  Crete.  Here  she  excavated  nu- 
merous tombs  and  houses  of  the  early  Geometric  Period, 
circa  900  B.C.,  and  paved  the  way  for  those  brilliant  dis- 
coveries which  rewarded  her  labors  during  the  following 
three  years. 

The  investigations  conducted  during  these  three  years 
under  Miss  Boyd's  directions  yielded  results  of  transcen- 
dent value.  Assisted  by  three  young  American  women — 
the  Misses  B.  E.  Wheeler,  Blanche  E.  Williams,  and  Edith 
H.  Hall — she  superintended  the  work  of  more  than  a  hun- 
dred native  employees  whom  she  had  on  her  payroll.  By 
good  fortune  in  the  choice  of  a  site  for  excavation  and  by 
well-directed  efforts  she  was  soon  able  to  unearth  one  of 
the  oldest  of  Cretan  cities  and  to  expose  to  view  the  ruins 
of  what  was  probably  one  of  the  ninety  cities  which  Homer 
tells  us  in  his  Odyssey  graced  the  land  of  Crete — "a  fair 
land  and  a  rich,  in  the  midst  of  a  wine-dark  sea." 

So  remarkable  were  the  finds  in  this  long-buried  Minoan 
town  and  so  well  preserved  are  its  general  features  that  it 
has  justly  been  called  the  Cretan  Pompeii.  It  antedates 
by  long  centuries  the  oldest  cities  of  Greece  and  was  a 


322  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

flourishing  center  of  commerce  ages  before  the  heroes  oi 
the  Iliad  battled  on  the  plains  of  Troy. 

It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the  extraordinary  discov- 
eries made  by  this  enterprising  Yankee  girl  at  Gournia, 
no  less  than  those  made  by  British  and  Italian  archaeolc 
gists  at  Knossos  and  Phaestos,  have  completely  revolution- 
ized our  ideas  respecting  the  state  of  culture  of  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Crete  during  the  second  and  third  millenia  before 
the  Christian  era.  They  have  thrown  a  flood  of  light  on 
the  origins  of  Mediterranean  culture,  and  have,  at  the  same 
time,  supplied  material  for  a  study  of  European  civiliza- 
tion that  was  before  entirely  wanting. 

An  enduring  monument  to  Miss  Boyd's  ability  as  an 
archaeologist  is  her  notable  volume  containing  an  account 
of  her  excavations  at  Gournia,  Vasilike  and  other  prehis- 
toric sites  on  the  Isthmus  of  Hierapetra.  It  will  bear 
comparison  with  any  similar  productions  by  the  Schlie- 
manns  or  the  Dieulafoys.  A  later  work  on  Crete,  the  Fore- 
runner of  Greece,  which  she  wrote  in  collaboration  with 
her  husband,  Mr.  C.  H.  Hawes,  is  also  a  production  of 
recognized  merit.  As  a  study  on  the  origin  of  Greek  civili- 
zation it  opens  up  many  new  vistas  in  pre-history  and  illu- 
mines many  questions  that  were  before  involved  in  mystery. 

Besides  Mrs.  Hawes,  three  other  American  women  have 
achieved  marked  distinction  by  their  archaeological  re- 
searches. These  are  Mrs.  Sarah  Yorke  Stevenson,  Miss 
Alice  C.  Fletcher  and  Mrs.  Zelia  Nuttall. 

Mrs.  Stevenson  has  long  been  identified  with  the  progress 
of  archaeological  research,  especially  with  that  in  Egypt 
and  the  Mediterranean.  A  prominent  member  of  many 
learned  societies,  she  is  likewise  a  writer  and  lecturer  of 
note.  She  enjoys  the  distinction  of  being  the  first  woman 
whose  name  appears  as  a  lecturer  on  the  calendar  of  the 
University  of  Harvard.  In  acknowledgment  of  hers 
scholarly  ability  and  eminent  services  in  the  development 
of  its  Department  of  Archaeology,  the  University  of  Penn- 


WOMEN    IN    ARCHAEOLOGY  323 

sylvania  has  conferred  upon  her  the  honorary  degree  of. 
Doctor  of  Science. 

That  American  women  have  not  been  behind  their  sisters 
in  Europe  in  their  enthusiasm  for  archaeological  investiga- 
tion is  evinced  by  the  researches  and  writings  of  Miss 
Alice  C.  Fletcher  and  Mrs.  Zelia  Nuttall,  both  of  whom 
enjoy  an  international  reputation  in  the  learned  world. 

Miss  Fletcher's  chosen  field  of  labor  has  been  in  ethnol- 
ogy and  anthropology.  Her  studies  of  the  folk  lore  and 
the  manners  and  customs  of  various  tribes  of  North  Ameri- 
can Indians  have  a  distinct  and  permanent  value,  while 
those  of  her  contributions  which  have  been  published  by 
the  Smithsonian  Institution  and  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology 
— contributions  based  on  personal  knowledge  of  a  long 
residence  among  the  tribes  she  writes  about — show  that  she 
has  exceptional  talent  for  the  branches  of  archaeology  to 
which  she  has  devoted  many  years  of  earnest  and  successful 
study. 

Mrs.  Nuttall  is  the  daughter  of  an  American  mother 
and  an  English  father.  Thanks  to  the  care  that  was 
bestowed  on  her  education  by  her  parents  and  to  her  long 
residence  in  the  different  countries  of  Europe,  she  is  profi- 
cient in  seven  languages.  This  knowledge  of  tongues  has 
been  of  inestimable  advantage  to  her  in  her  researches  in 
European  libraries  and  in  those  historical  and  archaeologi- 
cal investigations  which  have  rendered  her  famous.  She 
has  devoted  special  attention  to  the  early  history,  lan- 
guages, religions  and  calendar  systems  of  the  primitive 
inhabitants  of  Mexico  and  Central  America,  in  all  of  which 
she  is  a  recognized  authority. 

When,  some  years  ago,  the  mysterious  ruins  of  Mexico 
began  to  attract  the  special  attention  of  archaeologists,  Mrs. 
Nuttall  was  selected  by  the  University  of  California  as  the 
field  director  of  the  commission  which  it  sent  to  pursue 
archaeological  researches  in  this  Egypt  of  the  New  World. 
A  more  competent  or  a  more  enthusiastic  director  could 


SM  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 


not  have  been  chosen.  Her  finds  in  the  Pyramids  of  th 
Sun  and  Moon  at  Teotihuacan  and  elsewhere  in  our  sister 
republic  were  especially  important.  In  recognition  of  her 
achievements  President  Porfirio  Diaz  nominated  Mrs.  Nut- 
tall  honorary  professor  in  the  Mexican  National  Museum. 
She  was  also  offered  the  position  of  curator  of  the  archae- 
ological Museum  of  Mexico;  but  this  office  she  declined. 
She  holds  membership  in  a  large  number  of  learned  socie- 
ties in  America  and  Europe  and  is  a  frequent  contributor 
to  numerous  magazines  on  historical  and  archaeological  sub- 
jects. She  has  had  the  good  fortune  to  discover  a  number 
of  important  manuscripts  illustrating  the  early  history  of 
Mexico.  Chief  among  these  are  a  Hispano- American  manu- 
script which  she  dug  out  of  one  of  the  libraries  of  Madrid 
and  another  which  was  found  in  a  private  collection  in 
England  and  reproduced  in  facsimile  in  this  country.  In 
honor  of  its  fair  discoverer  it  is  now  known  as  the  Codex 
Nuttall,  and  is  regarded  by  experts  as  one  of  the  most 
precious  records  of  ancient  Mexico. 

What  is  probably  Mrs.  Nuttall's  most  valuable  contribu- 
tion to  archaeological  science  is  her  erudite  work  entitled 
The  Fundamental  Principles  of  Old  and  New  World  Civili- 
zations. It  is  a  comparative  research  based  on  a  study  of 
the  ancient  Mexican,  religious,  sociological  and  calendar 
systems,  and  represents  thirteen  years  of  assiduous  labor. 
It  is  a  worthy  monument  to  the  scientific  ability  of  this 
gifted  Americanist,  and  one  which  brilliantly  illumines 
some  of  the  most  controverted  points  of  comparative  archae- 
ology. 

The  Nestor  of  women  archaeologists  is  Donna  Ersilia 
Caetani-Bovatelli  —  the  daughter  of  the  famous  Dante 
scholar,  the  late  Duke  Don  Michel  Angelo  Caetani-Sermon- 
etta.  Since  the  days  of  Boniface  VIII,  whom  Dante  scorn- 
fully denounced  as  lo  principe  dey  Pharisei,  the  family  of 
the  Caetani  has  been  one  of  the  most  illustrious  of  the 


. 


WOMEN    IN    ARCHEOLOGY  325 

Roman  nobility,  and  is  to-day  ranked  with  those  of  the 
Colonna  and  Orsini. 

Besides  his  thorough  knowledge  of  Dante,  whose  Divina 
Commedia  he  regarded  as  the  great  artistic  production  of 
the  human  mind — a  work  which  he  knew  by  heart — the 
Duke  of  Sermonetta  was  deeply  versed  in  philology  and 
archaeology.  No  one  was  more  familiar  with  the  history 
and  antiquities  of  Rome  than  he  was,  nor  a  greater  friend 
and  patron  of  scholars  of  every  nationality.  The  Palazzo 
Caetani  was  the  resort  of  not  only  the  savants  of  Rome, 
but  also  and  especially  of  those  who  gathered  from  all 
quarters  of  the  world  to  study  the  rich  collections  of  antiq- 
uities for  which  the  Eternal  City  is  so  famous.  Here  the 
ablest  authorities  in  history  and  archaeology  discussed  the 
latest  discoveries  among  the  ruins  of  Greece  and  Asia 
Minor,  and  the  most  recent  finds  in  the  Forum  or  amidst 
the  crumbling  ruins  of  the  palaces  of  the  Caesars. 

Having  such  a  father  and  brought  up  in  such  an  envi- 
ronment it  is  not  surprising  that  Donna  Ersilia  acquired 
at  an  early  age  that  taste  for  archaeology  which  was,  as 
events  proved,  to  constitute  the  chief  occupation  of  her 
long  and  busy  life.  Having  enjoyed  and  studied  literature 
and  the  languages  under  the  best  masters  in  Rome,  she 
was  thoroughly  prepared  for  the  work  of  deciphering 
Greek  and  Latin  inscriptions  and  for  an  intelligent  study 
of  the  ancient  monuments  of  Italy  and  Hellas. 

Her  learned  countryman,  A.  de  Gubernatis,  assures  us 
that  she  has  such  a  thorough  knowledge  of  Latin  and  Greek 
that  she  writes  both  with  ease  and  elegance,  and  that  she 
is  endowed  with  an  admirable  memory  for  philology  and 
archaeology.  Besides  being  a  mistress  of  several  modern 
languages,  she  is  also  familiar  with  Sanscrit. 

Since  the  death  of  her  husband,  in  1879,  she  has  devoted 
all  her  time,  outside  of  that  given  to  the  care  and  educa- 
tion of  her  children,  to  the  pursuit  of  classical  archaeology, 
in  which  she  has  long  been  regarded  as  an  authority  of  the 


326  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

first  order.  Her  salon,  unlike  those  of  the  frivolous  lead- 
ers of  high  life,  has  for  many  years  been  the  favorite 
rendezvous  in  Rome  of  learned  men  and  women  from  ever} 
clime.  Here  were  seen  the  noted  historians  Gregorovius, 
Theodore  Mommsen,  and  Giovanni  Battista  de  Rossi,  the'! 
illustrious  founder  of  Christian  archaeology.  Here  the  rep- 
resentatives of  the  French,  German  and  American  schools 
of  archaeology  meet  to  exchange  views  on  their  favorite 
science  and  to  find  inspiration  in  the  knowledge  and  enthu- 
siasm of  their  gifted  hostess,  who  always  takes  an  active 
part  in  their  recondite  discussions,  and  never  fails  to  con- 
tribute her  share  to  these  meetings,  which  have  contributed 
so  much  toward  the  advancement  of  science  and  the  history 
of  antiquity.  Whether  the  discussion  turn  on  the  decipher- 
ing of  an  ancient  text,  the  inscription  of  a  monument  or  a 
recently  excavated  sarcophagus,  Donna  Ersilia's  opinion 
is  eagerly  sought,  and  her  judgment  is  generally  unerring. 

This  cultured  and  erudite  daughter  of  sunny  Italy  has 
been  a  prolific  writer  on  her  favorite  branch  of  research. 
Besides  contributing  to  such  publications  as  the  Nuova 
Antologia  and  the  bulletins  of  the  archaeological  commis- 
sions in  Rome,  she  has  found  time  to  prepare  for  the  press 
a  number  of  volumes  of  the  highest  value  on  divers  ques- 
tions of  Roman  and  Greek  archaeology. 

It  is  interesting,  in  this  connection,  to  note  the  fact  that, 
after  Mme.  Curie  had  been  refused  admittance  into  the 
French  Academy,  one  of  the  members  of  this  institution, 
who  had  voted  against  her  on  the  ground  that  she  was  a 
woman,  had  occasion  to  attend  a  meeting  of  the  Academy 
of  the  Lincei  in  Rome,  an  association  which  plays  the  same 
role  in  Italy  as  does  the  French  Academy  in  France,  and 
found,  to  his  astonishment,  that  the  dean  of  the  depart- 
ment  of  archaeology,  as  well  as  the  presiding  officer  of  some 
of  the  most  important  meetings  of  the  academy,  was 
woman.  She  was  no  other  than  Donna  Ersilia  Caetani- 
Bovatelli,  the  learned  and  gracious  scion  of  an  honored 


WOMEN    IN    ARCHAEOLOGY  S27 

race.  So  taken  aback  was  the  Gallic  opponent  of  feminisms 
that  he  could  but  exclaim:  "Diable!  they  order  things 
differently  in  Italy  from  what  we  do  in  la  belle  France." 

Considering  their  attainments  and  achievements,  the  two 
women  who  occupy  the  highest  place  as  archaeologists  in 
the  English-speaking  world  are  Mrs.  Agnes  Smith  Lewis 
and  Margaret  Dunlop  Gibson.  They  are  the  twin  daugh- 
ters of  the  Rev.  John  Smith,  an  English  clergyman,  and 
have  long  enjoyed  an  enviable  reputation  among  Scriptural 
scholars  and  Orientalists. 

During  their  youth  they  had  the  advantage  of  instruc- 
tion under  the  best  masters,  and,  among  other  things, 
acquired  a  wide  knowledge  of  the  modern  and  classical 
languages.  Subsequent  study  and  frequent  visits  to  Greece 
and  the  Orient  made  them  proficient  in  modern  Greek, 
Arabic,  Hebrew  and  Syriac.  Becoming  interested  in  the 
search  for  ancient  manuscripts,  they  resolved  to  make  the 
long  and  arduous  journey  to  the  Greek  convent  of  St. 
Catherine  on  Mt.  Sinai. 

In  the  latter  part  of  January,  1892,  these  two  brave  and 
enterprising  women  left  Suez  for  their  destination  in  the 
heart  of  the  Arabian  desert.  They  were  accompanied  only 
by  their  dragoman  and  Bedouin  servants.  Eleven  camels 
carried  the  two  travelers,  their  baggage,  tents  and  pro- 
visions for  fifty  days.  They  had  laid  in  supplies  not  only 
for  the  two  or  three  weeks  they  were  to  spend  on  the  way 
to  and  from  Sinai,  but  also  for  the  month  they  expected 
to  remain  at  the  Convent  of  St.  Catherine. 

Arriving  at  the  end  of  their  journey,  they  were  most 
cordially  received  by  the  monks,  who  afforded  them  every 
facility  for  examining  the  treasures  of  their  unique  and 
venerable  library.  They  immediately  set  to  work,  and 
before  they  left  the  room  in  which  the  manuscripts  were 
preserved  they  had  made  one  of  the  most  remarkable  finds 
of  the  century.  For,  in  closely  inspecting  a  dirty,  for- 
bidding old  manuscript  whose  leaves  had  probably  not 


328  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

been  turned  for  centuries,  they  discovered  a  palimpsest,  oi 
which   the   upper  writing   contained   the   biographies   oi 
women  saints,  while  that  beneath  proved  to  be  one  of  th< 
earliest  copies  of  the  Syriac  Gospels,  if  not  the  very  earlies 
in  existence. 

No  find  since  the  celebrated  discovery  by  Tischendorf 
of  the  Sinaitic  Codex,  in  the  same  convent  nearly  fifty 
years  before,  ever  excited  such  interest  among  Scriptural 
scholars  or  was  hailed  with  greater  rejoicings.  It  was  by 
all  Biblical  students  regarded  as  an  invaluable  contribution 
to  Scriptural  literature,  and  as  a  find  which  ' '  has  doubled 
our  sources  of  knowledge  of  the  darkest  corner  of  New 
Testament  criticism/ '  To  distinguish  it  from  the  Codex 
SinaAticus,  the  precious  manuscript  brought  to  light  by 
Mrs.  Lewis  has  been  very  appropriately  named  after  the 
fortunate  discoverer,  and  will  hereafter  be  known  as  the 
Codex  Ludovicus.1 

Another  find  of  rare  importance  made  by  the  gifted  twin 
sisters  was  a  Palestinian  Syriac  lectionary  similar  to  the 
hitherto  unique  copy  in  the  Library  of  the  Vatican.     A 

i  One  passage  in  this  codex  bears  so  strongly  on  a  leading  argu- 
ment of  this  work  that  I  cannot  resist  the  temptation  to  give  it  with 
Mrs.  Lewis'  own  comment: 

"The  piece  of  my  work,"  she  writes,  In  the  Shadow  of  Sinai, 
p.  98  et  seq.,  "which  has  given  me  the  greatest  satisfaction,  consists 
in  the  decipherment  of  two  words  in  John  IV,  27.  They  were  well 
worth  all  our  visits  to  Sinai,  for  they  illustrate  an  action  of  our 
Lord  which  seems  to  be  recorded  nowhere  else,  and  which  has  some 
degree  of  inherent  probability  from  what  we  know  of  His  character. 
The  passage  is  'His  disciples  came  and  wondered  that  with  the 
women  he  was  standing  and  talking*     .... 

"Why  was  our  Lord  standing?  He  had  been  sitting  on  the 
wall  when  the  disciples  left  Him;  and,  we  know  that  He  was  tired. 
Moreover,  sitting  is  the  proper  attitude  for  an  Easterner  when  en- 
gaged in  teaching.  And  an  ordinary  Oriental  would  never  rise  of  his 
own  natural  free  will  out  of  politeness  to  a  woman.  It  may  be  that 
He  rose  in  His  enthusiasm  for  the  great  truths  He  was  uttering; 
but,  I  like  to  think  that  His  great  heart,  which  embraced  the  lowest 
of  humanity,  lifted  Him  above  the  restrictions  of  His  race  and  age, 


WOMEN    IN    ARCHAEOLOGY  329 

special  interest  attaches  to  this  lectionary  from  the  fact 
that  it  is  written  in  the  language  that  was  most  probably 
spoken  by  our  Lord. 

Among  other  notable  discoveries  of  Mrs.  Lewis  and  her 
sister  during  the  four  visits1  which  they  made  to  Mt.  Sinai 
and  Palestine  between  the  years  1892  and  1897  were  a 
number  of  manuscripts  in  Arabic  and  a  portion  of  the 
original  Hebrew  manuscript  of  Ecclesiastes  which  was 
written  about  200  B.C.  Previously  the  oldest  copies  of  this 
book  of  the  Old  Testament  were  the  Greek  and  Syriac 
versions. 

What  is  specially  remarkable  about  the  discoveries  made 
by  Mrs.  Lewis  and  Mrs.  Gibson  is  that  they  were  able  to 
make  so  many  valuable  finds  after  the  convent  library  at 
Mt.  Sinai  had  been  so  frequently  examined  by  previous 
scholars.  The  indefatigable  Tischendorf  made  three  visits 
to  this  library  and  had  but  one  phenomenal  success.  But 
neither  "he  nor  any  of  the  other  wandering  scholars  who 
have  visited  the  convent  attained/ '  as  has  been  well  said, 
"to  a  tithe  of  the  acquaintance  with  its  treasures  which 
these  energetic  ladies  possess.'' 

But  more  remarkable  than  the  mere  discovery  of  so  many 
invaluable  manuscripts,  which  was,  of  course,  an  extraor- 
dinary achievement,  is  the  fact  that  these  manuscripts, 
whether  in  Syriac,  Arabic  or  Hebrew,  have  been  trans- 
lated, annotated  and  edited  by  these  same  scholarly  women. 
Already  more  than  a  score  of  volumes  have  come  from 
their  prolific  pens,  all  evincing  the  keenest  critical  acumen 

and  made  Him  show  that  courtesy  to  our  sex,  even  in  the  person 
of  a  degraded  specimen,  which  is  considered  among  all  really  pro- 
gressive peoples  to  be  a  mark  of  true  and  noble  manhood.  To  shed 
even  a  faint  light  upon  that  wondrous  story  of  His  tabernacling 
amongst  us  is  an  inestimable  privilege  and  worthy  of  all  the  trouble 
we  can  possibly  take. ' ' 

1  Mrs.  Gibson,  unaccompanied  by  her  sister,  has  since  made  two 
more  visits  to  Mt.  Sinai  in  order  to  complete  the  work  so  auspiciously 
begun. 


330  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

and  the  highest  order  of  Biblical  and  archaeological  scholar- 
ship. The  reader  who  desires  a  popular  account  of  thei 
famous  discoveries  should  by  all  means  read  Mrs.  Gibson': 
entertaining  volume,  How  the  Codex  Was  Found,  and  Mrs. 
Lewis'  charming  little  work  entitled,  In  the  Shadow  of 
Sinai.  As  to  those  men — and  the  species  is  yet  far  from 
extinct — who  still  doubt  the  capacity  of  women  for  the 
higher  kinds  of  intellectual  effort,  let  them  glance  at  the 
pages  of  the  numerous  volumes  given  to  the  press  by  these 
richly  dowered  women  under  the  captions  of  Studia  Sinai- 
tica  and  Horce  Semiticw;  and,  if  they  are  able  to  compre- 
hend the  evidence  before  them,  they  will  be  forced  to  admit 
that  the  long-imagined  difference  between  the  intellectual 
powers  of  men  and  women  is  one  of  fancy  and  not  one  of 
reality.1 

And  yet,  strange  to  relate,  while  Mrs.  Lewis  and  Mrs. 
Gibson  were  electrifying  the  learned  world  by  their  achieve- 

i  The  following  partial  list  of  the  works  of  these  erudite  twins 
on  subjects  connected  with  Scripture  and  Oriental  literature  gives 
some  idea  of  their  extraordinary  attainments  and  of  their  prodigious 
activity  in  researches  that  are  usually  considered  entirely  foreign 
to  the  tastes  and  aptitudes  of  women. 

Some  Pages  of  the  Four  Gospels  Betranscribed  From  the  Sinaitic 
Palimpsest,  with  a  translation  of  the  whole  text  by  Agnes  Smith 
Lewis. 

An  Arabic  Version  of  St.  Paul's  Epistles  to  the  Romans,  Corin- 
thians, Galatians  and  part  of  Ephesians.  Edited  from  a  ninth  cen- 
tury MS.  by  Margaret  Dunlop  Gibson. 

Apocrypha  Sinaitica.  Containing  the  Anaphora  Pilati  in  Syriac 
and  Arabic:  the  Syriac  transcribed  by  J.  Eendel  Harris,  and  the 
Arabic  by  Margaret  Dunlop  Gibson;  also  two  recensions  of  the  Rec- 
ognitions of  Clement,  in  Arabic,  transcribed  and  translated  by  Mar- 
garet Dunlop  Gibson. 

An  Arabic  Version  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  and  the  Seven 
Catholic  Epistles,  from  an  eighth  or  ninth  century  MS.,  with  a 
treatise  on  the  Triune  Nature  of  God  and  translation.  Edited  by 
Margaret  Dunlop  Gibson. 

Apocrypha  Arabica,  Edited  by  Margaret  D.  Gibson,  containing 
1,  Eitab  al  Magall  or  the  Boole  of  the  Rolls;  2,  The  Story  of  the 


WOMEN    IN    ARCHEOLOGY  331 

merits  in  the  highest  form  of  scholarship,  the  slow-moving 
University  of  Cambridge  was  gravely  debating  "whether 
it  was  a  proper  thing  to  confer  degrees  upon  women, ' '  and 
preparing  to  answer  the  question  in  the  negative.  The 
fact  that  there  were  "representatives  of  the  unenfran- 
chised sex  at  their  gates  who  had  gathered  more  laurels 
in  the  field  of  scholarship  than  most  of  those  who  belong 
to  the  privileged  sex"  did  not  appeal  to  the  university  dons 
or  prevent  them  from  putting  themselves  on  record  as 
favoring  a  condition  of  things  which,  at  this  late  age  of 
the  world,  should  be  expected  only  among  the  women- 
enslaving  followers  of  Mohammed. 

The  saying  that  "a  prophet  hath  no  honor  in  his  own 
country"  was  fulfilled  to  the  letter  in  the  case  of  the  two 

AphiTcia  Wife  of  Jesus  Ben  Sira  (Carshuni)  ;  3,  Cyprian  and  Justa, 
in  Arabic  and  Greek. 

Select  Narratives  of  Holy  Women,  from  the  Syro-Antiochene  or 
Sinai  Palimpsest,  as  written  above  the  Old  Syriae  Gospels  in  A.  D. 
778.     Translation  by  Agnes  Smith  Lewis. 

Apocrypha  Syriaca  Sinaitica,  being  the  Protevangelium  Jacobi 
and  Transitus  Marice,  from  a  Palimpsest  of  the  fifth  or  sixth  century. 
Edited  by  Agnes  Smith  Lewis. 

Forty-One  Facsimiles  of  Dated  Christian  Arabic  Manuscripts, 
with  Text  and  English  Translation,  arranged  by  Agnes  Smith  Lewis 
and  Margaret  Dunlop  Gibson,  with  introductory  observations  in 
Arabic  calligraphy  by  the  Eev.  David  S.  Margoliouth. 

The  Didascalia  Apostolorum  in  Syriae,  edited  from  a  Mesopo- 
tamian  MS,  with  various  readings  and  collations  of  other  MS,  by 
Margaret  Dunlop  Gibson. 

The  Arabic  Version  of  the  Acta  Apocrypha  Apostolorum,  edited 
and  translated  by  Agnes  Smith  Lewis,  with  fifth  century  fragments 
of  the  Acta  Thomw,  in  Syriae. 

The  Gospel  of  Isbodad  in  Syriae  and  English,  by  Margaret  D. 
Gibson. 

Acta  Mythologica  Apostolorum  in  Arabic,  with  translation  by 
Agnes  Smith  Lewis. 

For  an  elaborate  and  sympathetic  account  of  the  labors  and  dis- 
coveries of  Mrs.  Lewis  and  her  sister,  the  reader  is  referred  to  an 
article  from  the  pen  of  the  learned  Professor  V.  Eyssel,  in  the 
Schweizerische  Theologische  Zeitschrift,  XVI,  Jahrgang,  1899. 


332  [WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

women  who  had  shed  such  luster  on  the  land  of  their  birtl 
While  foreign  institutions  were  vying  with  one  anothei 
in  showering  honors  on  the  two  brilliant  Englishwomei 
with  whose  praises  the  whole  world  was  resounding,  the 
University  of  Cambridge  was  silent.  The  University  of 
St.  Andrews  conferred  on  them  the  degree  of  LL.D.,  while 
conservative  old  Heidelberg,  casting  aside  its  age-old  tra- 
ditions, made  haste  to  honor  them  with  the  degree  of  Doc- 
tor of  Divinity.  In  addition  to  this,  Halle  made  Mrs. 
Lewis  a  Doctor  of  Philosophy.  One  would  have  thought 
that  sheer  shame,  if  not  patriotic  spirit,  would  have  com- 
pelled the  university  in  whose  shadows  the  two  women  had 
their  home,  and  in  which  Mrs.  Lewis'  husband  had  held  for 
years  an  official  appointment,  to  show  itself  equally  appre- 
ciative of  superlative  merit  and  equally  ready  to  reward 
rare  scholarship,  regardless  of  the  sex  of  the  beneficiaries. 
But  no.  The  illustrious  archaeologists  and  Biblical  scholars 
were  women,  and  this  fact  alone  was  in  the  estimation  of 
the  Cambridge  authorities  enough  to  withhold  from  them 
that  recognition  which  was  so  spontaneously  accorded  them 
by  the  great  universities  of  the  Continent. 

Nor  was  this  the  only  instance  of  the  kind.  While  the 
celebrated  twin  sisters  just  referred  to  were  so  materially 
contributing  to  our  knowledge  of  Biblical  lore,  another 
Englishwoman,  Jane  E.  Harrison,  who  lived  within  hearing 
of  the  church  bells  of  Cambridge,  was  lecturing  to  de- 
lighted audiences  in  Newnham  College  on  the  history, 
mythology  and  monuments  of  ancient  Athens,  and  writing 
those  learned  works  on  the  religion  and  antiquities  of 
Greece  which  have  given  her  so  conspicuous  a  place  among 
modern  archaeologists.1     But,  as  in  the  case  of  her  dis- 

i  For  an  evidence  of  this  learned  lady 's  competency  to  deal  with 
the  most  recondite  stores  of  history  and  archaeology,  the  reader  is 
referred  to  two  of  her  later  works,  viz.,  Primitive  Athens  as  Described 
by  Thucydides,  Cambridge,  1906,  and  Prolegomena  to  the  Study  of 
Greek  Religion,  Cambridge  University  Press,  1903. 


WOMEN    IN    ARCHEOLOGY  333 


tinguished  neighbors,  the  discoverers  of  the  Codex  Ludo- 
vicus,  the  degrees  she  was  honored  with  came  not  from 
Cambridge,  with  which,  through  her  fellowship  in  Newn- 
ham,  she  was  so  closely  connected. 

And  while  this  gifted  lady  was  deserving  so  well  of  sci- 
ence and  literature,  the  undergraduate  students  of  Cam- 
bridge, following  the  cue  given  by  the  twenty-four  hundred 
graduates  who  had  just  rejected  the  proposal  to  give  hon- 
orary degrees  to  women  who  could  pass  the  required  ex- 
aminations, were  giving  an  exhibition  of  rowdyism  which 
far  surpassed  that  which,  a  few  years  before,  had  so  dis- 
graced the  University  of  Edinburgh,  when  the  same  ques- 
tion of  degrees  for  women  was  under  consideration. 

According  to  the  report  of  an  eye  witness  of  the  turbu- 
lent scene  at  Cambridge,  "The  undergraduate  students 
appeared  to  be,  as  a  body,  viciously  opposed  to  the  pro- 
posal to  give  degrees  to  women,  and  became  fairly  riotous. 
They  hooted  those  who  supported  the  reform  and  fired 
crackers  even  in  the  Senate  House  and  made  the  night 
lurid  with  bonfires  and  powder.  They  put  up  insulting 
effigies  of  girl  students,  and  such  mottoes  as  'Get  you  to 
Girton,  Beatrice.  Get  you  to  Newnham.  Here  is  no  place 
for  maids!'  " 

Verily,  when  such  scenes  are  possible  in  one  of  the 
world's  great  intellectual  centers — a  place  where,  above  all 
others,  women  should  receive  due  recognition  for  their 
contributions  toward  the  progress  of  knowledge — one  is 
constrained  to  declare  that  what  we  call  civilization  is  still 
far  from  the  ideal.  And,  when  one  witnesses  the  total  in- 
difference of  institutions  like  Cambridge  and  the  French 
Academy  to  the  splendid  achievements  of  women  like  Mrs. 
Lewis,  Mrs.  Gibson  and  Mme.  Curie,  one  cannot  but  ex- 
claim in  words  Apocolyptic:  "How  long,  0  Lord,  holy 
and  true,"  is  this  iniquitous  discrimination  against  one- 
half  of  our  race  to  endure?     0.  Lord,  how  long? 


CHAPTER   X 

WOMEN   AS    INVENTORS 

"There  have  been  very  learned  women  as  there  have 
been  women  warriors,  but  there  have  never  been  women 
inventors. ' n  Thus  wrote  Voltaire  with  that  flippancy  and 
cocksureness  which  was  so  characteristic  of  the  author  of 
the  Dictionnaire  Philosophique — a  man  who  was  ever  ready 
to  give,  offhand,  a  categorical  answer  to  any  question  that 
came  before  him  for  discussion.  His  countryman,  Proud- 
hon,  expressed  the  same  opinion  in  other  words  when  he 
wrote,  Les  femmes  n'ont  rien  invent e,  pas  meme  leur 
quenouille — women  have  invented  nothing,  not  even  their 
distaff. 

Had  these  two  writers  thoroughly  sifted  the  evidence 
available,  even  in  their  day,  for  a  proper  consideration  of 
this  interesting  subject,  they  would,  both  of  them,  have 
reached  a  very  different  conclusion  from  that  which  is  ex- 
pressed in  the  sentences  just  quoted.  Had  they  consulted 
,  the  records  of  antiquity,  they  would  have  learned  that  most 
of  the  earliest  and  most  important  inventions  were  attrib- 
uted to  women;  and,  had  they  studied  the  reports  of  ex- 
plorers among  the  savage  tribes  of  the  modern  world,  they 
would  have  found  that  these  early  legends  and  traditions 

1 ' '  On  a  vu  des  femmes  tres  savantes,  comme  en  f ut  des  guerrieres, 
mais  il  n'y  en  eut  jamais  d 'inventrices. ' '  Dictionnaire  Philosophique, 
sub  voce  Femmes.  Condorcet,  in  commenting  on  this  statement,  re- 
marks that  "if  men  capable  of  invention  were  alone  to  have  a  place 
in  the  world,  there  would  be  many  a  vacant  one,  even  in  the  acade- 
mies.'; 

334 


WOMEN    AS    INVENTORS  335 

regarding  the  inventions  of  women  were  fully  confirmed 
by  what  was  being  done  in  their  own  time.  Man's  first 
needs  were  food,  shelter  and  clothing;  and  tradition  in  all 
parts  of  the  world  is  unanimous  in  ascribing  to  woman  the 
invention,  in  essentially  their  present  forms,  of  all  the 
arts  most  conducive  to  the  preservation  and  well-being  of 
our  race. 

In  Egypt,  as  Diodorus  Siculus  informs  us,  the  inventors 
of  specially  useful  things  were,  as  a  reward  of  their  deserts, 
enrolled  among  the  gods,  as  were  certain  heroes  among 
the  ancient  Greeks  and  Eomans.  Foremost  among  these 
was  Isis,  who  laid  the  foundation  of  agriculture  by  the  in- 
troduction of  the  culture  of  wheat  and  other  cereals.  Be- 
fore her  time  the  Egyptians  lived  on  roots  and  herbs.  In 
lieu  of  these  crude  articles  of  food,  Isis  gave  them  bread 
and  other  more  wholesome  aliments.  She  invented  the 
process  of  making  linen  and  was  the  first  to  apply  a  sail 
to  the  propulsion  of  a  boat.  To  her  also  was  attributed 
the  art  of  embalming,  the  discovery  of  many  medicines  and 
the  beginnings  of  Egyptian  literature. 

Even  more  prominent  was  Pallas  Athene,  one  of  the 
greatest  divinities  of  the  Greeks.  Virgil,  in  his  Georgics, 
invokes  her  as 

"Inventor,   Pallas,   of  the  fatt'ning  oil, 
Thou  founder  of  the   plow  and  the  plowman's  toil." 

But  not  only  was  she  regarded  as  the  olece  inventrix — 
inventress  of  the  olive — as  Virgil  phrases  it,  but  also  as 
the  inventor  of  all  handicrafts,  whether  of  women  or  men. 
Like  Isis,  she  was  deemed  the  originator  of  agriculture  and 
many  of  the  mechanic  arts.  But,  above  all,  she  was  the 
inventor  of  musical  instruments  and  those  plastic  and 
graphic  arts  which  have  for  ages  placed  Greece  in  the  fore- 
front of  civilization  and  culture. 

From  the  beginning  it  was  woman  who  first  made  use 
of  wool  and  flax  for  textile  fabrics ;  and  of  this  prehistoric 


S36  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

woman  one  can   affirm  what   Solomon,   in   his  Book   of 
Proverbs,  said  of  the  virtuous  woman  of  his  day : 

"She  seeketh   wool   and  flax   and  worketh  diligently  with   her 
hands; 
She  layeth  her  hands  to  the  spindle  and  her  hands  hold  the 
distaff." 

She  was  also  the  first  one  to  weave  cotton  and  silk.  It 
was  Mama  Oclo,  the  wife  of  Manco  Capac,  as  the  Inca 
historian,  Garcilasso  de  la  Vega,  tells  us,  who  taught  the 
women  of  ancient  Peru  ' '  to  sew  and  weave  cotton  and  wool 
and  to  make  clothes  for  themselves,  their  husbands  and 
children. ' ' 

And  it  was  a  woman,  Se-ling-she,  the  wife  of  the  em- 
peror, Hwang-te,  who  lived  nearly  three  thousand  years 
before  Christ,  to  whom  the  most  ancient  Chinese  writers 
assign  the  discovery  of  silk.  Her  name  is  perpetuated  in 
the  name  China,  the  goddess  of  silkworms,  and  under  this 
appellation  she  still  receives  divine  honors. 

The  preparation  and  weaving  of  silk  were  introduced 
into  Japan  by  four  Chinese  girls,  and  the  new  industry 
soon  became  there,  as  in  China,  one  of  the  chief  sources, 
as  it  is  to-day,  of  the  country 's  wealth.  To  perpetuate  the 
memory  of  these  four  pioneer  silk  weavers  the  grateful 
Japanese  erected  a  temple  in  their  honor  in  the  province 
of  Setsu. 

According  to  tradition,  the  eggs  of  the  silk  moth  and  the 
seed  of  the  mulberry  tree  were  conveyed  to  India,  con- 
cealed in  the  lining  of  her  headdress,  by  a  Chinese  princess. 
She  was  thus  instrumental  in  establishing  in  the  region 
watered  by  the  Indus  and  the  Ganges  the  same  industry 
which  her  countrywomen  had  introduced  into  the  Land 
of  the  Kising  Sun. 

Cashmere  shawls  and  attar  of  roses,  the  costliest  of  per- 
fumes, are  attributed  to  an  Indian  empress,  Nur  Mahal, 
whom  her  husband,  in  view  of  her  achievements,  as  well  as 


WOMEN    AS    INVENTORS 

on  account  of  his  passionate  love  for  her,  called  "The 
Light  of  the  World."1 

And  what  shall  we  say  of  those  exquisite  creations  of 
woman's  brain  and  hand — needlepoint  and  pillow  lace? 
These  two  inventions,  like  the  manufacture  of  silk,  have 
given  employment  to  tens  of  thousands  of  women  through- 
out the  world ;  and,  in  such  countries  as  Italy,  Belgium  and 
France,  where  lace-making  has  received  special  attention, 
they  have  for  centuries  been  most  prolific  sources  of  reve- 
nue. Silk  fabrics  in  ancient  Rome  were  worth  their  weight 
in  gold.  The  finest  specimens  of  point  lace  are,  even  to- 
day, as  highly  prized  as  precious  stones,  and,  like  the  great 
masterpieces  of  plastic  art,  are  handed  down  as  heirlooms 
from  generation  to  generation.  In  no  other  instance,  ex- 
cept possibly  in  the  hairspring  of  a  watch,  is  there  such  an 
extraordinary  difference  in  value  between  the  raw  material 
and  the  finished  product  as  there  is  in  the  case  of  the  finest 
thread  lace. 

A  great  sensation  was  caused  in  Italy  a  few  decades  ago 
when  a  humble  workwoman,  Signora  Bassani,  succeeded  in 
rediscovering  the  peculiar  stitch  of  the  celebrated  Venetian 
point,  which  had  been  lost  for  centuries.  She  was  at  once 
granted  a  patent  for  her  invention,  which  was  by  her 
countrymen  regarded  as  an  event  of  national  importance. 

After  painting  and  sculpture,  probably  no  art  has  con- 
tributed more  to  the  development  of  the  esthetic  sense 

i  That   marvelous    structure    known   as    the    Taj    Mahal — India  's 
noblest  tribute  to  the  grace  and  goodness  of  Indian  womanhood — 
is  sometimes  said  to  be  a  monument  to  the  memory  of  Nur  Mahal. 
This  is  not  the  case.     This  matchless  gem  of  architecture — 
lt     ...     The  proud  passion  of  an  emperor's  love 
Wrought  into  living  stone,  which  gleams  and  soars 
With  body   of   beauty   shrining  soul   and  thought. " 

is  a  monument  to  Nur  Mahal's  niece  and  successor  as  empress,  Mum- 
taz-Mahal — The  Crown  of  the  Palace — who,  like  her  aunt,  was  a 
woman  of  rare  beauty  and  talent  and  endeared  herself  to  her  people 
by  her  splendid  qualities  of  mind  and  heart. 


338  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

among  the  nations  of  the  world  than  has  the  art  whose 
chief  tools  are  the  needle  and  the  bobbin  in  the  deft  hands 
of  a  beauty-loving  woman.  If  the  name  of  the  first  lace- 
maker  had  not  been  lost  in  the  mists  of  antiquity,  it  is 
reasonable  to  suppose  that  she,  too,  would  long  since  have 
had  a  monument  erected  to  her  memory,  as  well  as  the 
weavers  of  silk  and  makers  of  attar  of  roses  and  cashmere 
shawls.    She  was  surely  as  deserving  of  such  an  honor. 

More  conclusive  information  respecting  woman  as  an 
inventor  is,  strange  as  it  may  appear,  afforded  by  a  sys- 
tematic study  of  the  various  races  of  mankind  which  are 
still  in  a  state  of  savagery.  Such  a  study  discloses  the 
interesting  fact  that  woman,  contrary  to  the  declaration  of 
Proudhon,  has  not  only  been  the  inventor  of  the  distaff, 
but  that  she  has  furthermore — pace  Voltaire — been  the 
inventor  of  all  the  peaceful  arts  of  life,  and  the  inventor, 
too,  of  the  earliest  forms  of  nearly  all  the  mechanical 
devices  now  in  use  in  the  world  of  industry. 

Architecture,  as  well  as  many  other  things,  was  credited 
by  the  ancient  Greeks  to  Minerva.  This  was  a  poetical 
way  of  stating  the  fact — now  generally  accepted  by  men  of 
science — that  women  were  the  first  homemakers.  But  the 
first  home  was  a  very  simple  and  a  very  humble  structure. 
When  not  a  cave,  it  was  a  simple  shelter  made  of  bark  or 
skins,  sufficient  to  afford  protection  to  the  mother  and  her 
child.  Subsequently  it  was  a  lodge  made  of  earth,  of  stone 
or  wattle  work  or  adobe. 

Women  were,  in  the  light  of  anthropology,  as  well  as  in 
that  of  mythology  and  tradition,  the  first  to  discover  the 
nutritive  and  medicinal  values  of  fruits,  seeds,  nuts,  roots 
and  vegetables.  They  were  consequently  the  first  garden- 
ers and  agriculturists  and  the  first  to  build  up  a  materia 
medica.  While  men  were  engaged  in  the  chase  or  in  war- 
fare, women  were  gradually  perfecting  those  divers  domes- 
tic arts  which,  in  the  course  of  time,  became  their  recog- 
nized specialties.     They  soon  found  that  it  was  better  to 


WOMEN    AS    INVENTORS  339 

cultivate  certain  food  plants  and  trees  than  to  depend  on 
them  for  nourishment  in  the  wild  state.  This  was  par- 
ticularly true  in  the  case  of  such  useful  and  widely  dis- 
tributed species  as  wheat,  rice,  maize,  the  yam,  potato, 
banana  and  cassava. 

At  first  most  of  these  food  products  were  used  in  the 
raw  state,  but  woman's  quick  inventive  genius  was  not 
long  in  making  one  of  the  most  important  and  far-reaching 
discoveries — a  method  for  producing  fire.  In  a  certain 
sense  this  was  the  greatest  discovery  ever  made,  and  the 
Greeks  showed  their  appreciation  of  the  value  of  it  by 
asserting  that  fire  was  stolen  from  heaven.  Considering  its 
multifarious  uses  in  heating  and  cooking,  thereby  im- 
mensely adding  to  the  comfort  and  well-being  of  primitive 
man,  we  are  not  surprised  that  in  certain  parts  of  the 
world  fire  has  always  been  considered  something  sacred, 
and  that  the  old  Romans  instituted  Vestal  Virgins,  and 
the  ancient  Peruvians  Virgins  of  the  Sun,  to  preserve  this 
precious  element  and  have  it  ever  ready  when  required  for 
sacrifice  or  for  any  of  their  various  liturgical  functions. 
If  any  one  ever  deserved  a  "  monument  more  durable  than 
bronze,"  it  was  the  woman  who,  "on  the  edge  of  time," 
first  drew  the  Promethean  spark  from  a  piece  of  pyrites  by 
striking  it  with  flint  or  produced  it  by  the  friction  of  two 
pieces  of  wood. 

After  building  a  home  and  establishing  in  it  a  fireplace 
for  the  preparation  of  food,  woman's  next  concern  was  to 
secure  more  raiment  than  was  afforded  by  the  traditional 
fig  leaf.  This  she  found  in  the  bark  of  certain  trees,  in 
the  fiber  of  hemp  and  cotton  and  in  the  wool  of  sheep 
and  goats.  With  these  and  her  distaff  she  spun  thread, 
and  from  the  thread  thus  obtained  she  was  by  means  of 
her  primitive  loom — likewise  her  invention — able  to  pro- 
vide all  kinds  of  textile  fabrics  for  clothing  for  herself 
and  family. 

But  there  was  much  more  to  invent  before  the  home  of 


340  JVOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

primitive  man,  or  rather  primitive  woman,  could  be  con- 
sidered as  fairly  equipped.  Furniture  and  culinary  uten- 
sils were  required,  and  these,  too,  were  provided  by  the 
deft  and  cunning  fingers  of  woman.  She  was  the  first  pot- 
ter and  the  first  basketmaker;  and  anyone  who  has  lived 
among  the  savages  of  any  land,  especially  among  the 
aborigines  in  the  interior  of  South  America,  knows  what 
an  important  part  is  played  in  domestic  economy  by  native 
basketry  and  ceramic  ware.  Both  of  these  articles  were  at 
first  of  the  simplest  character,  but  woman 's  innate  esthetic 
sense  soon  enabled  her  to  produce  those  highly  ornate  speci- 
mens of  pottery  and  basketry  that  are  so  highly  prized  in 
the  public  and  private  collections  of  this  country  and 
Europe. 

The  first  device  for  converting  grain  into  flour  was,  like 
the  many  other  articles  already  named,  the  invention  of 
woman.  Whether  the  simple  mortar  and  pestle  of  the 
North  American  Indian,  or  the  Mexican  metate  and  muller, 
or  the  Irish  quern,  it  was,  in  every  case,  the  product  of 
woman's  brain  and  handiwork,  as  it  was  also  the  basal 
prototype  of  our  most  improved  types  of  flouring  mills. 
And  so  was  the  soapstone  pot — the  predecessor  of  the  iron 
or  brass  kettle — a  woman's  invention,  as  well  as  many 
similar  contrivances  for  preparing  food. 

But  what  is  probably  the  most  remarkable  culinary  in- 
vention of  woman  in  the  state  of  savagery  is  her  unique 
contrivance  for  converting  the  poisonous  root  of  the 
manihot  utilissima — the  staple  food  of  tropical  America — 
into  a  wholesome  and  nutritious  aliment.  It  is  a  bag, 
called  matapi,  which  serves  both  as  a  press  and  as  a  sieve. 
For  the  inhabitants  of  the  vast  basins  of  the  Amazon  and 
the  Orinoco,  where  the  chief  articles  of  diet  are  derived 
from  the  manihot  and  the  plantain,  this  invention  of 
woman  is  the  most  important  ever  made  and  ranks  in  im- 
portance with  the  discovery  by  the  same  skilled  food  pur- 
veyor of  the  dietetic  value  of  manihot  itself. 


WOMEN    AS    INVENTORS  341 

The  first  knife  was  a  woman's  invention,  as  the  arrow- 
head and  the  spear  point  were  the  inventions  of  her  hunter 
husband.  It  was  in  the  beginning  a  most  primitive  imple- 
ment ;  but,  whether  in  the  form  of  a  simple  flake  of  flint  of 
obsidian,  or  in  that  of  an  Eskimo  ulu — the  woman 's  knife — 
it  was  the  archetype  of  all  the  forms  of  cutlery  now  in 
use.  With  this  rude  knife  the  primitive  housewife  skinned 
and  carved  the  game  brought  to  her  by  her  male  compan- 
ion. With  it  she  scraped  the  interior  of  the  hide  and  cut 
it  up  into  articles  of  clothing.  She  was  thus  the  first  fur- 
rier and  tailor.  With  it  she  made  the  first  sandals  and 
moccasins,  and,  in  doing  so,  became  the  first  shoemaker  and 
the  original  St.  Crispin. 

To  woman,  the  originator  of  the  first  home,  is  due  also 
the  invention  of  the  oven  and  the  chimney.  She  was  also 
the  first  maker  of  salt — that  all-important  condiment  and 
sanitary  agent — and  the  first  to  obtain  nitre  from  wood 
ashes.  She  was  the  first  engineer,  as  is  evinced  in  her 
invention  of  the  parbuckle  and  in  the  bamboo  conduit, 
which  was  the  predecessor  of  the  great  canals  of  Baby- 
lonia1 and  the  imposing  aqueducts  of  ancient  Rome. 

Important,  however,  as  are  all  the  foregoing  inventions, 
we  must  not  forget  what  was  an  equally  important  con- 
tribution by  woman  to  the  welfare  and  progress  of  our 
race — the  domestication  of  animals.  No  discovery  after 
that  of  artificially  producing  fire  has  contributed  more 
toward  the  development  of  our  race  than  the  taming  of 
milk-  and  fleece-bearing  animals,  like  the  cow,  the  sheep, 
the  goat  and  the  llama,  or  of  burden-bearing  animals,  like 
the  horse,  the  ass,  the  camel  and  the  reindeer,  or  of  hunt-i 
ing  and  watching  animals  like  the  faithful,  ubiquitous- 
dog.     For,  in  the  first  place,  the  domestication  of  these 

i  The  inventor  of  canals  as  well  as  of  bridges  over  rivers  and 
causeways  over  morasses  was,  according  to  Greek  historians,  the 
famous  Assyrian  queen,  Semiramis,  the  builder  of  Babylon  with  its 
wonderful  hanging  gardens. 


342  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

supremely  useful  animals  diminished  man's  labor  as  bur- 
den bearers.  It  likewise  supplemented  the  fecundity  of 
women  and  facilitated  the  multiplication  of  the  race,  be- 
cause it  supplied  to  the  child  a  nourishment  that  previ- 
ously could  be  obtained  only  from  the  mother,  who  had 
been  obliged  to  suckle  her  young  several  years  longer  than 
was  necessary  after  the  friendly  goat  and  cow  came  to  her 
aid.  Still  another  consequence  of  the  domestication  of 
animals  was  that  it  immensely  diminished  the  amount  of 
woman's  care  and  labor,  afforded  her  the  necessary  leisure 
to  develop  the  arts  of  refinement,  and  stimulated  intellec- 
tual growth  in  a  way  that  otherwise  would  have  been 
impossible. 

It  is  often  stated  by  certain  writers  who  love  to  indulge 
in  fanciful  speculations  that  women  inventors  got  their 
ideas  as  home  builders  and  weavers  and  potters  from  nest- 
building  birds,  from  web-weaving  spiders,  and  from  clay 
workers  like  termites  and  mud  wasps.  Be  this  as  it  may, 
the  fact  remains  in  all  its  inspiring  truth  that,  in  the 
matter  of  industrialism,  as  opposed  to  the  militancy  of 
man,  we  can  unhesitatingly  declare,  with  Virgil,  Dux 
femina  facti — woman  was  the  leader  in  all  the  arts  of 
peace — arts  which  have  been  slowly  perfected  through  the 
ages  until  they  present  the  extraordinary  development 
which  we  now  witness. 

When  we  contemplate  the  splendid  porcelain  wares  of 
Meissen  and  Sevres,  or  the  countless  varieties  of  cutlery 
produced  in  the  factories  of  Sheffield,  or  the  beautiful  tex- 
tile fabrics  from  the  looms  of  Lowell  and  Manchester,  or 
the  delicate  silks  woven  in  the  famous  establishments  of 
Lombardy  and  Southern  France,  or  the  countless  forms  of 
footwear  made  in  Lynn  and  Chicago,  or  the  exquisite  furs 
brought  from  Siberia  and  the  Pribyloff  Islands,  and  dyed 
in  Leipsic  and  London,  or  the  astonishing  output  of  food 
products  from  the  factories  of  Pittsburgh  and  the  immense 
roller  mills  of  Minneapolis,  we  little  think  that  the  colossal 


WOMEN    AS    INVENTORS  343 

wheels  of  these  vast  and  varied  industries  were  set  in 
motion  by  the  inventive  genius  of  woman  in  the  dim  and 
distant  prehistoric  past. 

And  yet  such  is  the  case.  Her  handiwork  from  the 
earliest  pottery  may  be  traced  through  its  manifold  stages 
from  its  first  rude  beginnings  to  the  most  gorgeous  crea- 
tions of  ceramic  art.  The  primeval  knife  of  flint  or  ob- 
sidian has  become  the  keen  tool  of  tempered  steel;  the 
simple  distaff  has  issued  in  the  intricate  Jacquard  loom; 
the  metate  and  pestle  actuated  by  a  woman's  arm  have,  by 
a  long  process  of  evolution,  developed  into  our  mammoth 
roller  mills  impelled  by  water  power,  steam  or  electricity.1 

But  these  extraordinary  changes  from  the  rude  imple- 
ments of  prehistoric  time  to  the  complicated  machinery 
of  the  present  is  but  a  change  of  kind,  not  one  of  prin- 
ciple. It  is  a  change  due  to  specialization  of  work  which 
became  possible  only  when  men,  liberated  from  the  avoca- 
tions of  hunting  and  warfare,  were  able  to  take  up  the 
occupations  of  women,  and  develop  them  in  the  manner 
with  which  we  are  now  familiar. 

Why  men,  rather  than  women,  should  have  achieved  this 
work  of  specialization ;  whether  it  was  due  to  social  causes 
or  to  woman's  physical  and  mental  organization,  or  to 
these  various  factors  combined,  we  need  not  inquire;  but 
such  is  the  fact.  Whereas  in  primitive  times  every  woman 
having  a  home  was  a  cook,  a  butcher,  a  baker,  a  potter,  a 
weaver,  a  cutler,  a  miller,  a  tanner,  a  furrier,  an  engineer, 
man,  in  assuming  the  work  which  was  originally  exclusively 
feminine  and  performed  by  one  and  the  same  person,  has 
subdivided  and  specialized  by  improved  forms  of  machin- 
ery and  otherwise,  so  that  what  is  now  done  is  accomplished 

i  Among  the  works  which  treat  of  the  subject-matter  of  the  fore- 
going pages  the  reader  may  consult  with  profit,  Woman's  Share  in 
Primitive  Culture,  by  O.  T.  Mason,  London,  1895;  Man  and  Woman, 
the  introductory  chapter,  by  Havelock  Ellis,  London,  1898;  and  His- 
toire  Nouvelle  des  Arts  et  des  Sciences,  by  A.  Kenaud,  Paris,  1878. 


SU  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

more  rapidly  and  to  better  purpose,  and  with  correspond- 
ingly greater  results  in  the  development  of  industry  and 
in  the  progress  of  civilization. 

And  the  remarkable  fact  is  that  many  of  the  most  im- 
portant of  these  improvements  due  to  specialization  have 
been  made  within  the  memory  of  those  yet  living,  while 
still  others  have  been  originated  in  quite  recent  years. 
Nevertheless,  great  as  has  been  the  work  of  specialization 
and  coordination  in  every  department  of  human  industry 
during  the  last  few  decades,  it  is,  to  judge  by  the  reports 
of  the  Patent  Office,  as  yet  in  little  more  than  its  initial 


We  are  now  prepared  for  the  consideration  of  the  part 
woman  has  taken  in  this  specializing  movement  and  for  a 
discussion  of  her  share  in  modern  inventions  and  in  the 
improvements  of  those  manifold  inventions  which  were 
due  to  her  genius  and  industry  untold  ages  ago.  Con- 
sidering the  short  time  during  which  her  inventive  mind 
has  been  specially  active,  and  the  many  handicaps  which 
have  been  imposed  on  her,  the  wonder  is  not  that  she  has 
achieved  so  little  in  comparison  with  man,  but  rather  that 
she  has  accomplished  so  much. 

The  first  woman  to  receive  a  patent  in  the  United  States 
was  Mary  Kies.  It  was  issued  May  5,  1809,  for  a  process 
of  straw-weaving  with  silk  or  thread.  Six  years  later 
Mary  Brush  was  granted  a  patent  for  a  corset.  It  seems 
to  have  been  quite  satisfactory,  for  no  other  patent  for 
this  article  of  feminine  attire  was  issued  to  a  woman  until 
1841,  when  one  was  granted  to  Elizabeth  Adams.  During 
the  thirty-two  years  which  elapsed  between  the  issuing  of 
a  patent  to  Mary  Kies  and  Elizabeth  Adams,  but  twenty 
other  patents  were  granted  to  women.  The  chief  of  these 
were  for  weaving  hats  from  grass,  manufacturing  mocca- 
sins, whitening  leghorn  straw,  for  a  sheet-iron  shovel,  a 
cook  stove  and  a  machine  for  cutting  straw  and  fodder. 

During  the  decade  following  1841,  fourteen  patents  were 


WOMEN    AS    INVENTORS  345 

issued  to  as  many  different  women.  Among  the  articles 
patented  by  them  were  an  ice-cream  freezer,  a  weighing 
scale  and  a  fan  attachment  for  a  rocking  chair.  It  was 
not  recorded,  however,  that  this  last  invention,  valuable 
as  it  was  apparently,  ever  became  particularly  popular. 
But  by  far  the  most  remarkable  of  woman's  inventions 
during  this  period  was  a  submarine  telescope  and  lamp, 
for  which  a  patent  was  awarded  in  1845  to  Sarah  Mather. 

From  1851  to  1861,  -twenty-eight  patents  were  issued  to 
women — just  twice  the  number  awarded  them  during  the 
preceding  decade.  Most  of  these  patents  were  for  articles 
of  domestic  use  or  feminine  apparel.  Four  of  them,  how- 
ever, comprised  a  scale  for  instrumental  music,  for  mount- 
ing fluid  lenses,  a  fountain  pen  and  an  improvement  in 
reaping  and  mowing  machines. 

The  following  decade  is  remarkable  for  the  wonderful 
increase  in  the  number  of  inventions  due  to  women,  for 
there  was  a  sudden  jump  from  twenty-eight  to  four  hun- 
dred and  forty-one  patents  awarded  them  between  the 
years  1861  and  1871.  Women  now  began  to  have  confidence 
in  their  inventive  faculties,  and,  no  longer  content  with  ex- 
ercising their  genius  on  articles  of  clothing  and  culinary 
utensils,  sewing,  washing  and  churning  machines,  they 
began  to  devote  their  attention  to  objects  that  were  en- 
tirely foreign  to  their  ordinary  home  activities.  This  is 
clearly  evinced  by  the  patents  they  obtained  for  such 
inventions  as  improvements  in  locomotive  wheels,  devices 
for  reducing  straw  and  other  fibrous  substances  for  the 
manufacture  of  paper  pulp,  improvements  in  corn  huskers, 
low-water  indicators,  steam  and  other  whistles,  corn  plows, 
a  method  of  constructing  screw  propellers,  improvements 
in  materials  for  packing  journals  and  bearings,  in  fire 
alarms,  thermometers,  railroad  car  heaters,  improvements 
in  lubricating  railway  journals,  in  conveyors  of  smoke  and 
cinders  for  locomotives,  in  pyrotechnic  night  signals,  bur- 
glar alarms,  railway  car  safety  apparatus,  in  apparatus 


346  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

for  punching  corrugated  metals,  desulphurizing  ores  and 
other  similar  inventions  in  the  domain  of  mechanical  en- 
gineering, inventions  that,  at  first  blush,  would  seem  to  be 
quite  alien  to  the  genius  and  capacity  of  woman. 

From  now  on  women's  inventions  in  the  United  States 
increased  at  an  extraordinary  rate,  for  from  1871  until 
July  1,  1888,  when  the  first  government  report  was  made 
on  the  patents  issued  to  women  inventors,  she  had  to  her 
credit  nearly  two  thousand  inventions,  many  of  which  were 
of  prime  importance.1 

During  the  seven  years  following  1888  she  was  awarded 
twenty-five  hundred  and  twenty-six  patents — more  than 
the  total  number  that  had  been  granted  her  during  the 
preceding  seventy-nine  years.  Between  1895  and  1910, 
three  thousand  six  hundred  and  fifteen  more  patents  were 
placed  to  her  credit,  making  a  grand  total  for  her  first  cen- 
tury of  inventive  achievement  of  eight  thousand  five  hun- 
dred and  ninety-six  patents.  No  Patent  Office  reports  are 
available  since  1910,  but  the  number  of  inventions  for 
which  women  have  received  patents  since  Mary  Kies  was 
awarded  hers  on  May  5,  1809,  for  "  straw-weaving  with  silk 
or  thread/ '  cannot  be  far  from  ten  thousand.  This  fact 
will,  doubtless,  be  a  revelation  to  that  large  class  of  men 
who  still  seem  to  share  the  views  of  Voltaire  and  Proudhon 
that  women  are  incapable  of  inventing  even  the  simplest 
article  of  domestic  use. 

The  following  story  well  illustrates  the  prevailing  igno- 
rance regarding  the  part  women  have  taken  in  the  inven- 
tion of  certain  articles  that  are  so  common  that  most 
people  think  they  were  never  patented. 

"I  was  out  driving  once  with  an  old  farmer  in  Ver- 
mont," writes  Mrs.  Ada  C.   Bowles,  "and  he  told  me, 

i  Cf .  Women  Inventors  to  whom  patents  have  been  granted  by 
the  United  States  Government,  Compiled  under  the  Direction  of  the 
Commissioner  of  Patents,  Washington,  1888.  See  also  subsequent 
reports  of  the  Patent  Office. 


WOMEN    AS    INVENTORS  347 

'You  women  may  talk  about  your  rights,  but  why  don't 
you  invent  something?'  I  answered,  'Your  horse's  feed 
bag  and  the  shade  over  his  head  were  both  of  them  in- 
vented by  women.'  The  old  fellow  was  so  taken  aback 
that  he  was  barely  able  to  gasp,  'Do  tell!'  " 

Had  he  investigated  further  he  would  have  found  that 
the  flynet  on  his  horse's  back,  the  tugs  and  other  harness 
trimmings,  the  shoes  on  his  horse's  feet1  and  the  buggy 
seat  he  then  occupied  were  all  the  inventions  of  women. 
He  would,  doubtless,  also  have  discovered  that  the  curry- 
comb he  had  used  before  starting  out  on  his  drive,  as  well 
as  the  snap  hook  of  the  halter  and  the  checkrein  and  the 
stall  unhitching  device  were  likewise  the  inventions  of 
members  of  that  sex  whose  capacity  he  was  so  disposed  to 
depreciate ;  for  women  have  been  awarded  patents — in  some 
instances  several  of  them — for  all  the  articles  that  have 
been  mentioned.  He  might  furthermore  have  learned  that 
the  fellies  in  his  buggy  wheels  and  his  daughter's  side 
saddle  had  been  made  under  women's  patents;  and  that, 
to  complete  his  surprise  and  confusion,  the  leather  used 
in  his  harness  had  been  sewn  by  a  machine  patented  by  a 
woman  who  was  not  only  an  inventor  but  who  was  also  for 
many  years  the  manager  and  proprietor  of  a  large  harness 
factory  in  New  York  City. 

What  particularly  arrests  one's  attention  in  reading  the 
Patent  Office  reports  is  not  only  the  large  number  of  inven- 
tions by  women,  but  also  the  very  wide  range  of  the  devices 
which  they  embrace.  It  is  not  surprising  to  find  them 
inventing  and  improving  culinary  utensils,  house  furniture 
and  furnishings,  toilet  articles,  wearing  apparel  and  sta- 
tionery, trunks  and  bags,  toys  and  games,  designs  for 
printed  and  textile  fabrics,  for  boxes  and  baskets,  screens, 
awnings,  baby  carriers,  musical  instruments,  appliances  for 

i  To  one  woman,  Mary  E.  Poupard,  of  London,  England,  were 
granted  in  a  single  year  no  less  than  three  patents  for  horse-shoes — 
two  of  the  patents  being  for  sectional  and  segmental  horse-shoes. 


348  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE      . 

washing  and  cleaning,  attachments  for  bicycles  and  type- 
writing machines,  art,  educational  and  medical  appliances ; 
for  these  things  are  in  keeping  with  their  proper  metier; 
but  it  is  surprising  for  those  who  are  not  familiar  with  the 
history  of  modern  inventions  to  learn  of  the  share  women 
have  had  in  inventing  and  improving  agricultural  imple- 
ments, building  appurtenances,  motors  of  various  kinds, 
plumbing  apparatus,  theatrical  stage  mechanisms,  and, 
above  all,  countless  railway  appliances  from  a  coupling  or 
fender  to  an  apparatus  for  sanding  railroad  tracks,  or  a 
device  for  unloading  boxcars. 

Those  who  are  still  of  the  opinion  of  Voltaire  and  Proud- 
hon — and  their  name  is  legion — respecting  woman's  invei? 
tive  powers,  might  be  willing  to  accord  to  her  the  capacity 
to  design  a  new  form  of  clothes  pin,  or  hair  crimper,  or 
rouge  pad,  or  complexion  mask,  or  powder  puff,  or  baby 
jumper;  but  they  would  limit  her  ability  to  contrivances 
of  this  character.  But  what  would  these  same  people  say 
if  they  were  told  that  over  and  above  the  things  just  men- 
tioned for  which  many  women  have  actually  received 
patents,  the  much  depreciated  female  sex  had  been  granted 
patents  for  locomotive  wheels,  stuffing  boxes,  railway  car 
safety  apparatus,  life  rafts,  cut-offs  for  hydraulic  and  other 
engines,  street  cars,  mining  machines,  furnaces  for  smelt- 
ing ores,  sound-deadening  attachments  for  railway  cars, 
feed  pumps  and  transfer  apparatus  for  traction  cars,  ma- 
chines for  driving  hoops  on  to  barrels,  apparatus  for  de- 
stroying vegetation  on  and  removing  snow  from  railroads, 
coke  crushers,  artificial  stone  compositions,  elevated  rail- 
ways, new  forms  of  cattle  cars,  dams  and  reservoirs,  weld- 
ing seams  of  pipes  and  hardening  iron,  alloys  for  bell 
metal  and  alloys  to  resemble  silver,  methods  of  refining 
and  hardening  copper,  processes  for  concentrating  ores, 
improvement  in  elevators  and  designs  for  raising  sunken 
vessels?  And  yet,  incredible  as  it  may  appear  to  these 
scoffers  at  woman's  genius,  patents  for  all  these  inventions, 


WOMEN    AS    INVENTORS  349 

methods  and  processes — many  of  them  of  exceeding  value — 
and  for  hundreds  of  others  of  a  similar  nature,  have  been 
issued  to  women  during  recent  years.  And  the  activity 
of  the  fair  inventors,  far  from  abating,  is  becoming  daily 
more  pronounced,  and  promises  to  reward  their  efforts  with 
far  greater  triumphs.  Indeed,  women  are  becoming  so 
active  in  the  numerous  fields  of  invention — even  in  such 
unlikely  ones  as  metallurgy  and  civil,  mechanical  and  elec- 
trical engineering — that  they  bid  fair  to  rival  men  in  what 
they  have  long  regarded  as  their  peculiar  specialty. 

In  1892  a  woman  in  New  York  was  granted  two  patents, 
one  for  a  process  of  malting  beer  and  the  other  for  hooping 
malt  liquors.  These  inventions,  however,  are  not  so  for- 
eign to  the  avocation  of  woman  as  they  at  first  appear. 
For,  if  we  may  believe  the  teachings  of  ethnology  and  pre- 
historic archaeology  in  this  matter,  women  were  the  first 
brewers.  The  one,  therefore,  who  two  decades  ago  secured 
the  two  patents  just  mentioned  was  but  taking  up  anew 
an  occupation  in  which  her  sex  furnished  the  first  inven- 
tion many  thousand  years  ago. 

An  instructive  fact  touching  woman's  inventive  achieve- 
ments is  that  her  fullest  success  is  coincident  with  her 
enlarged  opportunities  for  education,  and  began  with  the 
breaking  down  of  the  prejudices  which  so  long  existed 
against  her  having  anything  to  do  with  the  development  of 
the  mechanical  or  industrial  arts.  When  one  recollects 
that  the  public  schools  of  Boston,  established  in  1642,  were 
not  open  to  girls  until  a  century  and  a  half  later,  and  then 
only  for  the  most  elementary  branches  and  for  but  one- 
half  the  year ;  and  that  girls  did  not  have  the  benefit  of  a 
high  school  education  in  the  center  of  New  England  cul- 
ture until  1852 ;  and  when  one  furthermore  recalls  the  atti- 
tude of  the  general  public  toward  women  and  girls  ex- 
tending their  activities  beyond  the  nursery  and  the  kitchen, 
it  is  easy  to  understand  that  there  was  not  much  encourage- 


S50  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

ment  for  them  to  exercise  their  inventive  talent,  even  if 
they  had  felt  an  inclination  to  do  so. 

The  experience  of  Miss  Margaret  Knight,  of  Boston,  who 
in  1871  was  awarded  a  valuable  patent  for  making  a  paper- 
bag  machine  is  a  case  in  point  and  well  illustrates  some  of 
the  difficulties  that  women  inventors  had  to  contend  with 
only  a  few  decades  ago. 

"Asa  child, ' '  she  writes  to  a  friend,  ' '  I  never  cared  for 
the  things  that  girls  usually  do;  dolls  never  had  any 
charms  for  me.  I  couldn  't  see  the  sense  of  coddling  bits  of 
porcelain  with  senseless  faces;  the  only  things  I  wanted 
were  a  jackknife,  a  gimlet  and  pieces  of  wood.  My  friends 
were  horrified.  I  was  called  a  tomboy,  but  that  made 
very  little  impression  on  me.  I  sighed  sometimes  because 
I  was  not  like  other  girls,  but  wisely  concluded  that  I 
couldn't  help  it,  and  sought  further  consolation  from  my 
tools.  I  was  always  making  things  for  my  brothers.  Did 
they  want  anything  in  the  line  of  playthings,  they  always 
said,  'Mattie  will  make  them  for  us.'  I  was  famous  for 
my  kites,  and  my  sleds  were  the  envy  and  admiration  of 
all  the  boys  in  town.  I'm  not  surprised  at  what  I've 
done ;  I  'm  only  sorry  I  couldn 't  have  had  as  good  a  chance 
as  a  boy,  and  have  been  put  to  my  trade  regularly." 

Even  after  she  had  demonstrated  her  skill  as  an  inventor, 
Miss  Knight  had  to  encounter  the  skepticism  of  the  work- 
men to  whom  she  entrusted  the  manufacture  of  her  ma- 
chines. They  questioned  her  ability  to  superintend  her 
own  work,  and  it  was  only  her  persistency  and  remarkable 
competency  that  ultimately  converted  their  incredulity  into 
respect  and  admiration. 

Since  women  have  come  into  the  possession  of  greater 
freedom  than  they  formerly  enjoyed,  and  have  been  af- 
forded better  opportunities  of  developing  their  inventive 
faculties,  many  of  them  have  taken  to  invention  as  an  occu- 
pation, and  with  marked  success.  They  find  it  the  easiest 
and  most  congenial  way  of  earning  a  livelihood,  and  not  a 


WOMEN    AS    INVENTORS  351 

few  of  them  have  been  able  thereby  to  accumulate  comfort- 
able fortunes,  besides  developing  industries  that  have  given 
employment  to  thousands  of  both  sexes. 

Thus  the  straw  industry  in  the  United  States  is  due  to 
Miss  Betsy  Metcalf,  who,  more  than  a  century  ago,  pro- 
duced the  first  straw  bonnet  ever  manufactured  in  this 
country.  Since  then  the  industry  which  this  woman  origi- 
nated has  assumed  immense  proportions.  The  number  of 
straw  hats  now  made  in  Massachusetts  alone,  not  to  speak 
of  those  annually  manufactured  elsewhere,  runs  into  the 
millions. 

Scarcely  less  wonderful  is  the  industry  developed  by 
Miss  Knight,  already  mentioned,  through  her  marvelous 
invention  for  manufacturing  satchel-bottom  paper  bags. 
Many  men  had  previously  essayed  to  solve  the  problem 
which  she  attacked  with  such  signal  success,  but  all  to  no 
purpose.  So  valuable  was  her  invention  considered  by 
experts  that  she  refused  fifty  thousand  dollars  for  it 
shortly  after  taking  out  her  patent. 

Often  what  are  apparently  the  most  trivial  inventions 
prove  the  most  lucrative.  Thus,  a  Chicago  woman  receives 
a  handsome  income  for  her  invention  of  a  paper  pail.  A 
woman  in  San  Francisco  invented  a  baby  carriage,  and 
received  fourteen  thousand  dollars  for  her  patent.  The 
gimlet-pointed  screw,  which  was  the  idea  of  a  little  girl, 
has  realized  to  its  patentee  an  independent  fortune.  Still 
more  remarkable  is  the  Burden  horseshoe  machine,  the  in- 
vention of  a  woman,  which  turns  out  a  complete  horseshoe 
every  three  seconds  and  which  is  said  to  have  effected  a 
saving  to  the  public  of  tens  of  millions  of  dollars. 

The  cotton  gin,  one  of  the  most  useful  and  important  of 
American  inventions — a  machine  that  effected  a  complete 
revolution  in  the  cotton  industry  throughout  the  world — is 
due  to  a  woman,  Catherine  L.  Greene,  the  wife  of  General 
Nathaniel  Greene,  of  Revolutionary  fame.  After  she  had 
fully  developed  in  her  own  mind  a  method  for  separating 


352  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

the  cotton  from  its  seed,  which  was  after  her  husband's 
death,  she  intrusted  the  making  of  the  machine  to  Eli 
Whitney,  who  was  then  boarding  with  her,  and  who  had 
a  Yankee's  skill  in  the  use  of  tools.  Whitney  was  several 
times  on  the  point  of  abandoning  as  impossible  the  task 
which  had  been  assigned  to  him,  but  Mrs.  Greene's  faith 
in  ultimate  success  never  wavered,  and,  thanks  to  her  per- 
sistence in  the  work  and  the  putting  into  execution  of  her 
ideas,  her  great  undertaking  was  finally  crowned  with  suc- 
cess. She  did  not  apply  for  a  patent  for  her  invention  in 
her  own  name,  because  so  opposed  was  public  opinion  to 
woman's  having  part  in  mechanical  occupation  that  she 
would  have  exposed  herself  to  general  ridicule  and  to  a 
loss  of  position  in  society.  The  consequence  was  that  Whit- 
ney— her  employee — got  credit  for  an  invention  which,  in 
reality,  belonged  to  her.  She  was,  however,  subsequently 
able  to  retain  a  subordinate  interest  in  it  through  her  sec- 
ond husband,  Mr.  Miller. 

This  is  only  one  of  many  instances  in  which  patents, 
taken  out  in  the  name  of  some  man,  are  really  due  to 
women.  The  earliest  development  of  the  mower  and 
reaper,  as  well  as  the  clover  cleaner,  belongs  to  Mrs.  A.  H. 
Manning,  of  Plainfield,  New  Jersey.  The  patent  on  the 
clover  cleaner  was  issued  in  the  name  of  her  husband ;  but, 
as  he  failed  to  apply  for  a  patent  for  the  mower  and  reaper, 
his  wife  was,  after  his  death,  robbed  of  the  fruit  of  her 
brain  by  a  neighbor,  whose  name  appears  on  the  list  of 
patentees  of  an  invention  which  originated  with  Mrs.  Man- 
ning. 

A  few  years  ago  men  of  science  awoke  to  the  startling 
fact  that  the  earth's  supply  of  nitrates  was  being  rapidly 
exhausted.  It  was  then  realized  that,  unless  some  new 
store  of  this  essential  fertilizer  could  be  found,  it  would 
soon  be  impossible  to  provide  the  food  requisite  for  the 
world's  teeming  millions.  What  was  to  be  done?  Never 
was  a  more  important  problem  presented  to  science  for 


WOMEN    AS    INVENTORS  353 

solution,  and  never  did  science  more  quickly  and  effica- 
ciously respond.  It  was  soon  recognized  that  the  earth's 
atmosphere  was  the  only  available  storehouse  for  the  much- 
needed  nitrogen.  Forthwith  scientists  and  inventors  the 
world  over  proceeded  to  tap  this  source  of  supply  and  to 
convert  its  vast  stores  of  nitrogen  into  the  nitrates  which 
are  so  indispensable  to  vegetable  life. 

To  form  some  idea  of  the  importance  of  the  problem  and 
the  urgency  of  its  solution,  it  may  be  stated  that  the 
amount  of  fertilizer  required  for  the  cotton  crop  alone  in 
the  Southern  States  in  1911  was  no  less  than  three  million 
tons.  What,  then,  must  have  been  the  total  amount  used 
through  the  world  for  cereals  and  other  crops  that  need 
constant  fertilizing?  The  famous  nitrate  deposits  of  Chili 
could  supply  only  a  small  fraction  of  the  stupendous 
amount  required,  and  they,  according  to  recent  calcula- 
tions, cannot  continue  to  meet  the  present  demands  on  them 
for  more  than  a  hundred  years  longer,  at  most. 

The  process  involved,  when  once  conceived,  was  simple 
enough,  for  it  merely  required  the  conversion  of  the  nitro- 
gen of  the  air  into  nitric  acid,  which  in  turn  was  employed 
in  the  production  of  nitrate  of  lime.  But,  simple  as  it  was, 
mankind  had  to  wait  a  long  time  for  its  origination,  and 
action  was  taken  only  when  necessity  compelled.  At  pres- 
ent there  are  numerous  nitrate  factories  in  France,  Ger- 
many, Austria,  Sweden,  Norway  and  the  United  States, 
and  the  output  is  already  enormous  and  constantly  increas- 
ing. Electricity,  that  mysterious  force  which  has  so  fre- 
quently come  to  man's  assistance  during  the  last  few 
decades,  is  the  agent  employed. 

But  who  was  the  originator  of  the  idea  of  utilizing  the 
atmosphere  for  the  production  of  nitrates?  Who  took  out 
the  first  patent  for  a  process  for  making  nitrates  by  using 
the  nitrogen  of  the  air?  It  was  a  Frenchwoman — Mme. 
Lefebre,  of  Paris — long  since  forgotten.  As  early  as  1859 
she  obtained  a  patent  in  England  for  her  invention,  but, 


354  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

as  the  need  of  fertilizers  was  not  so  urgent  then  as  it  is 
now,  it  was  allowed  to  drop  into  oblivion,  and  the  matter 
was  not  again  taken  up  until  a  half-century  later,  when 
others  secured  the  credit  for  an  idea  which  was  first  con- 
ceived by  a  woman  who  happened  to  have  the  misfortune 
to  live  fifty  years  in  advance  of  her  time. 

It  were  easy  to  extend  the  list  of  important  inventions 
due  to  women  and  of  patents  which  were  issued  in  the 
name  of  their  husbands  or  other  men ;  to  tell  of  inventions, 
too,  of  whose  fruits,  because  they  happened  to  be  helpless 
or  inexperienced  women,  the  real  patentees  were  often 
robbed;  but  the  foregoing  instances  are  quite  sufficient  to 
show  what  woman's  keen  inventive  genius  is  capable  of 
achieving  in  spite  of  all  the  restrictions  put  on  her  sex, 
and  in  spite  of  her  lack  of  training  in  the  mechanic  arts. 

Had  women,  since  the  organization  of  our  Patent  Office, 
enjoyed  all  the  educational  opportunities  possessed  by  men ; 
had  they  received  the  same  encouragement  as  the  lordly 
sex  to  develop  their  inventive  faculties ;  had  the  laws  of  the 
country  accorded  them  the  rewards  to  which  their  labor 
and  genius  entitled  them,  they  would  now  have  far  more 
inventions  to  their  credit  than  those  indicated  in  our  gov- 
ernment reports;  and  they  would,  furthermore,  be  able  to 
point  to  far  more  brilliant  achievements  than  have  hereto- 
fore, under  the  unfavorable  conditions  under  which  they 
were  obliged  to  work,  been  possible.  But  when  we  recall 
all  the  obstacles  they  have  had  to  overcome  and  remember 
also  the  fact  that  most  of  the  patents  referred  to  in  the 
preceding  pages  have  been  secured  by  women  living  in  the 
United  States — little  being  said  of  the  modern  inventions 
of  women  in  foreign  countries — we  can  see  that  their  rec- 
ord is  indeed  a  splendid  one,  that  their  achievements  are 
not  only  worthy  of  all  praise,  but  also  a  happy  augury  for 
the  future.  When  they  shall  have  the  same  freedom  of 
action  as  men  in  all  departments  of  activity  in  which  they 
exhibit  special  aptitude,  when  they  shall  have  the  same 


WOMEN    AS    INVENTORS  355 

advantages  of  training  and  equipment  and  the  prospect  of 
the  same  emoluments  as  the  sterner  sex  for  the  products  of 
their  brainwork  and  craftsmanship,  then  may  we  expect 
them  to  achieve  the  same  distinction  in  the  mechanic  arts 
as  has  rewarded  their  efforts  in  science  and  literature; 
and  then,  too,  may  we  hope  to  see  them  once  more  regain 
something  of  that  supremacy  in  invention  which  was  theirs 
in  the  early  history  of  our  race. 


CHAPTER   XI 

WOMEN  AS  INSPIREES  AND  COLLABORATORS  IN  SCIENCE 

One  of  the  most  interesting  literary  figures  of  the  fifth 
century  was  Caius  Apollinaris  Sidonius,  who,  after  holding 
a  number  of  important  civil  offices,  became  the  bishop  of 
Clermont.  The  most  valuable  of  his  extant  works  are  his 
nine  books  of  letters  which  are  a  mine  of  information 
respecting  the  history  of  his  age  and  the  manners,  customs 
and  ideals  of  his  contemporaries. 

In  one  of  these  letters,  addressed  to  Hesperius,  a  young 
friend  of  his  who  exhibited  special  talent  in  polite  liter- 
ature, he  expresses  a  sentiment  which  applies  as  well  to 
the  votary  of  science  as  to  the  man  of  letters.  Referring 
to  the  assistance  which  women  had  given  to  their  husbands 
and  friends  in  their  studies,  he  conjures  him  to  remember 
that  in  days  of  old  it  was  the  wont  of  Martia,  Terentia, 
Calpurnia,  Pudentilla  and  Rusticana  to  hold  the  lamp 
while  their  husbands,  Hortensius,  Cicero,  Pliny,  Apuleius 
and  Symmachus,  were  reading  and  meditating.1 

This  picture  of  women  as  light-bearers  to  the  great  ora- 
tors and  philosophers  just  named  is  symbolic  of  them  as 
the  helpmates  and  inspirers  of  men  in  every  field  of  human 
activity  and  in  every  age  of  the  world's  history.  Always 
and  everywhere,  when  permitted  to  occupy  the  same  social 
plane  as  men,  women  have  been  not  only  as  lamps  unto  the 

1  Sis  oppido  meminens  quod  olim  Martia  Hortensio,  Terentia 
Tullio,  Calpurnia  Plinio,  Pudentilla  Apuleio,  Rusticana  Symmaeho 
legentibus  meditantibusque  candelas  and  candelabra  tenuerunt.  Lib. 
II,  Epist.  10.  4* 

356 


WOMEN    AS    INSPIRERS  357 

feet  and  as  lights  unto  the  paths  of  their  male  compeers  in 
the  ordinary  affairs  of  life,  but  have  also  been  their  guiding 
stars  and  ministering  angels  in  the  highest  spheres  of  in- 
tellectual effort. 

For  nearly  fifteen  centuries  St.  Jerome  has  had  the  grati- 
tude of  the  church  for  his  masterly  translation,  known  as 
the  Vulgate,  of  the  Hebrew  Scriptures.  But,  had  it  not 
been  for  his  two  noble  friends,  Paula  and  Eustochium,  who 
were  as  eminent  for  their  intellectual  attainments  as  they 
were  for  their  descent  from  the  most  distinguished  families 
of  Rome  and  Greece,  there  would  have  been  no  Vulgate. 
For  they  were  not  only  his  inspirers  in  this  colossal  under- 
taking, but  they  were  his  active  and  zealous  collaborators 
as  well. 

Dante  and  Petrarch  are  acclaimed  as  the  morning  stars 
of  modern  literature,  but  both  of  them  owed  their  immor- 
tality to  the  inspiration  of  two  pure-minded  and  noble- 
hearted  women. 

In  the  concluding  paragraph  of  his  Vita  Nuova — the 
most  beautiful  love  story  ever  written — Dante  records  his 
purpose  to  say  of  his  inspirer,  the  gentle,  gracious  Beatrice 
Portinari,  "what  was  never  said  of  any  woman."  The 
outcome  of  this  exalted  purpose  was  the  Divina  Commedia, 
the  world's  greatest  literary  masterpiece. 

Petrarch,  the  father  of  humanism,  is  the  first  to  give 
Laura  de  Noves  credit  for  his  attainments  as  a  poet.  In 
one  of  his  poems  he  sings : 

"Blest  be  the  year,  the  month,  the  hour,  the  day, 
The  season  and  the  time,  and  point  of  space, 
And  blest  the  beauteous  country  and  the  place 
Where  first  of  two  eyes  I  felt  the  sway." 

Elsewhere  in  one  of  his  prose  dialogues  with  St.  Augus- 
tine he  declares,  "Whatever  you  see  in  me,  be  it  little  or 
much,  is  due  to  her;  nor  would  I  ever  have  attained  to 
this  measure  of  name  and  fame  unless  she  had  cherished 


358  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

by  those  most  noble  influences  that  my  feeble  implanting 
of  virtues  which  nature  had  placed  in  this  breast. ' n 

A  no  less  remarkable  inspirer,  but  in  an  entirely  differ- 
ent sphere  of  activity,  was  the  devout  and  spotless  Italian 
maiden,  Chiara  Schiffi,  better  known  as  St.  Clara.  She  was, 
as  is  well  known,  the  ardent  cooperator  of  St.  Francis 
Assisi  in  his  great  work  of  social  and  religious  reform 
which  has  contributed  so  much  toward  the  welfare  of 
humanity.  But  it  is  not  generally  known  what  an  im- 
portant part  she  had  in  this  great  undertaking,  and  how 
she  sustained  the  Poverello  during  long  hours  of  trial  and 
hardship.  It  was  during  these  periods  of  care  and  struggle 
that  we  see  how  courageous  and  intrepid  was  " '  this  woman 
who  has  always  been  represented  as  frail,  emaciated, 
blanched  like  a  flower  of  the  cloister." 

1 '  She  defended  Francis  not  only  against  others  but  also 
against  himself.  In  those  hours  of  dark  discouragement 
which  so  often  and  so  profoundly  disturb  the  noblest  souls 
and  sterilize  the  grandest  efforts,  she  was  beside  him  to 
show  the  way.  When  he  doubted  his  mission  and  thought 
of  fleeing  to  the  heights  of  repose  and  solitary  prayer,  it 
was  she  who  showed  him  the  ripening  harvest  with  no 
reapers  to  gather  it  in,  men  going  astray  with  no  shepherd 
to  herd  them,  and  drew  him  once  again  into  the  train  of 

i  * '  Verum  hoc — seu  gratitudini  seu  ineptisB  ascribendum — non 
sileo,  me  quantulucunque  conspicis,  per  illam  esse,  nee  unquam  ad 
hoc,  si  quid  est  nominis  aut  gloriae  fuisse  venturum,  nisi  virtu  turn 
tenuissman  sementem,  quasi  pectore  in  hoc  natura  locaverat,  nobilissi- 
mis  his  affectibus  coluisset.  Francisci  Petrarchae,  Colloquiorum  Liber 
quern  Secretum  Suum  Inscripsit,  pp.  105-106,  Berne,  1603. 

In  his  canzone  beginning  with  the  words  Perche  la  vita  e  breve, 
Petrarch  declares  to  his  inspirer — 

"Thus  if  in  me  is  nurst 
Any  good  fruit,  from  you  the  seed  came  first; 
To  you,  if  such  appear,  the  praise  is  due, 
Barren  myself  till  fertilized  by  you." 


WOMEN    AS    INSPIRERS  359 

the  Galilean,  into  the  number  of  those  who  give  their  lives 
as  a  ransom  for  many. ' '  * 

It  is  under  the  shade  of  the  olive  trees  of  St.  Damian, 
with  his  sister-friend  Clara  caring  for  him,  "that  he  com- 
poses his  finest  work,  that  which  Ernest  Renan  called  the 
most  perfect  utterance  of  modern  religions  sentiment,  The 
Canticle  of  the  Sun."2 

This  canticle,  however,  beautiful  as  it  is,  lacks,  as  has 
well  been  remarked,  one  strophe.  "If  it  was  not  upon 
Francis'  lips,  it  was  surely  in  his  heart :" 

"Be  praised,  Lord,  for  Sister  Clara; 
Thou  hast  made  her  silent,  active,  and  sagacious, 
And,  by  her,  thy  light  shines  in  our  hearts."  8 

It  was  through  the  inspiration  and  influence  of  Theodora 
that  the  famous  Church  of  St.  Sophia,  that  matchless  poem 
in  marble  and  gold,  that  imperishable  monument  to  the 
glory  of  the  true  God,  came  into  existence.  It  was  through 
her  that  Justinian  conceived  the  idea  of  those  Pandects 
and  Institutes  which  constitute  the  greatest  glory  of  his 
reign,  and  which  are  the  basis  of  the  Code  Napoleon  and  of 
all  modern  jurisprudence. 

It  was  to  Vittoria  Colonna  that  Michaelangelo  dedi- 
cated many  of  the  most  exquisite  productions  of  his  peer- 
less genius.  "He  saw,"  as  has  been  said,  "with  her  eyes 
and  acted  by  her  inspiration.' ' 

Almost  every  one  of  Chopin's  compositions  was  inspired 
by  women,  and  a  large  proportion  of  them  are  dedicated 
to  them.  The  same  may  be  said  of  Mozart,  Mendelssohn, 
Schubert,  Beethoven,  Weber,  Schumann  and  other  illustri- 
ous composers.  All  these  sons  of  genius  believed  with 
Castiglione  that ' '  all  inspiration  must  come  from  woman ; ' ' 

i  The  Life  of  St.  Francis  of  Assisi,  by  Paul  Sabatier,  p.  166, 
New  York,  1894. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  167. 

3  Ibid.,  p.  307. 


S60  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

„hat  she  had  been  expressly  i  t  '  ed  and  sent  into  the  world 
to  i  ispire  them  with  intellig'         and  creative  power. 

M.  Claviere  declares  that '  V  re  is  hardly  a  philosopher 
or  a  poet  of  the  sixteenth  century  whose  pages  are  not  illu- 
minated or  gladdened  by  the  smile  of  some  high-born 
lady."1 

What  the  brilliant  Frenchman  says  of  the  influence  of 
woman  on  the  poets  and  philosophers  of  a  single  century 
could  with  equal  truth  be  said  of  the  poets  and  philoso- 
phers of  every  century  from  Anacreon  and  Plato  to  the 
present  day.  And,  still  more,  it  can  be  predicated  of 
woman's  inspiration  and  influence  in  every  department  of 
intellectual  effort,  in  art  and  architecture,  in  music  and 
literature,  in  science  in  all  its  departments,  whether  deduc- 
tive or  inductive. 

It  has  been  well  said,  "Were  history  to  be  rewritten, 
with  due  regard  to  women 's  share  in  it,  many  small  causes, 
heretofore  disregarded,  would  be  found  fully  to  explain 
great  and  unlooked-for  results.  .  .  .  For  it  is  not  in  out- 
ward facts,  nor  great  names,  nor  noisy  deeds,  nor  genealo- 
gies of  crowned  heads,  nor  in  tragic  loves,  nor  ambitious  or 
striking  heroism,  nor  crime,  that  we  find  proofs  of  the  con- 
stant and  secret  working  whereby  woman  most  effectually 
asserts  herself.  Certainly  she  has  played  her  part  in  the 
outward  and  visible  history  of  the  world,  but  in  that  his- 
tory which  is  told  and  written,  which  is  buried  in  archives 
and  revivified  in  books,  woman's  part  is  always  small  when 
set  beside  that  of  her  companion,  man.  She  contributes 
but  little,  and  at  this  she  may  surely  rejoice,  to  the  tales 
of  battles  and  treaties  of  successions  and  alliances,  of  vio- 
lence, fraud,  suspicions  and  hatreds.  But  if  the  inward 
history  of  human  affairs  could  be  described  as  fully  as  the 
outward  facts ;  if  the  story  of  the  family  could  be  told  to- 
gether with  the  story  of  the  nation;  if  human  thoughts 
could  with  certainty  be  divined  from  human  deeds,  then 

1  The  Women  of  the  Renaissance,  p.  394,  New  York,  1901. 


WOMEN    A?   UNSPIRERS  361   . 

the  chief  figure  in  this  his    $$  of  sentiment  and  morals  ^ 
would  certainly  be  that  of        ^nan  the  Inspirer. 

This  same  statement  wou1 1 ,  jfoold  equally  good  if  applied 
to  the  part  taken  by  women  in  the  history  of  science.  Their 
achievements  have,  in  most  cases,  been  so  overshadowed  by 
those  of  men  that  their  work  has  been  usually  regarded  as 
a  negligible  quantity.  But  when  one  considers  the  main- 
springs of  actions,  and  examines  the  silent  undercurrents 
which  escape  the  notice  of  the  superficial  observer,  one 
finds,  as  in  social  and  political  history,  that  the  most  im- 
portant scientific  investigations  are  often  conducted,  and 
the  most  momentous  discoveries  are  made,  in  consequence 
of  the  promptings  of  some  devoted  woman  friend,  or  in 
virtue  of  the  still,  small  voice  of  a  cherished  wife,  or  sister, 
who  prefers  to  remain  in  the  background  in  order  that  all 
the  glory  of  achievement  may  redound  to  the  man. 

There  have  been,  it  may  safely  be  asserted,  few  really 
eminent  men  in  science,  as  there  have  been  few  really 
eminent  men  in  art  or  letters,  or  in  the  great  reform  and 
religious  movements  of  the  world,  who  have  not  been 
assisted  by  some  woman  light-bearer,  as  were  Hortensius 
by  Martia,  Tully  by  Terentia  and  Pliny  by  Calpurnia. 
There  have  been  few  that  have  not,  during  hours  of  doubt 
and  discouragement,  been  sustained  and  stimulated  as  was 
Francis  by  Clara,  and  Jerome  by  Paula  and  Eustochium. 
And  there  have  been  still  fewer  who  have  not  had,  like 
Petrarch  and  Dante,  their  Laura  or  their  Beatrice  of  whom 
each  could  say : 

"This  is  the  beacon  guides  to  deeds  of  worth, 
And  urges  me  to  see  the  glorious   goal: 
This  bids  me  leave  behind  the  vulgar  throng." 

In  the  preceding  chapters  we  have  had  notable  examples 
of  women  whose  beneficent  influence  and  cooperation  have 
1  Women  of  Florence,  by  Isodoro  del  Lungo,  p.  xxvii,  London, 
1907, 


362  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

enabled  distinguished  men  of  science  to  achieve  results  that 
would  otherwise  have  been  impossible.  Among  these — to 
mention  only  a  few — were  Mme.  Lavoisier  and  Mme.  Curie 
in  chemistry,  Mme.  Lapaute  and  Miss  Herschel  in  astron- 
omy, Mrs.  Agassiz  and  Mme.  Coudreau  in  natural  science 
and  exploration,  Mme.  Schliemann  and  Mme.  Dieulafoy 
in  archaeology. 

One  of  the  most  illustrious  women  inspirers  of  France 
was  Catherine  de  Parthenay,  who,  after  attaining  woman- 
hood, became  the  brilliant  Princess  de  Kohan,  and  was 
recognized  as  one  of  the  most  learned  and  most  remarkable 
women  of  the  sixteenth  century.  As  a  young  girl  she 
exhibited  rare  intelligence  and  displayed  special  aptitude 
for  the  exact  sciences.  For  this  reason  her  mother  saw 
to  it  that  her  child  had  the  benefit  of  instruction  under  the 
ablest  masters  that  could  be  secured. 

The  most  noted  of  these  was  Francois  Viete,  the  learned 
French  mathematician,  who  is  justly  regarded  as  the 
father  of  modern  algebra.  In  his  day,  especially  in  the 
higher  classes  of  society,  the  education  given  to  women 
was  often  more  thorough  than  that  afforded  to  men.  For 
this  reason,  too,  women  not  infrequently  became  distin- 
guished in  astronomy,  which  was  then  usually  known 
under  the  name  of  astrology. 

Viete,  in  initiating  his  gifted  pupil  into  the  principles 
of  this  science,  became  himself  so  enthusiastic  a  student  of 
astronomy  that  he  determined  to  prepare  an  elaborate  work 
on  the  subject — something  on  the  plan  of  the  Almagest  of 
Ptolemy — a  work  which  he  designated  Harmonicum  Ce- 
leste. 

In  order  that  the  instruction  given  his  pupil  might  not 
be  lacking  in  precision,  Viete  wrote  out,  with  the  most 
scrupulous  care,  the  lessons  designed  for  her  benefit.  The 
manuscripts  containing  these  lessons  were  long  preserved 
among  the  family  archives,  but  nearly  all  of  them  were 


WOMEN    AS    INSPIRERS  363 

unfortunately  consigned  to  the  flames  during  the  French 
Revolution  in  1793. 

No  one  was  more  interested  in  Viete's  mathematical  re- 
searches— those  researches  which  have  rendered  him  so 
famous  in  the  history  of  science — than  was  the  Princess  de 
Rohan.  The  former  pupil  was  the  first  to  receive  notice  of 
her  distinguished  master's  discoveries  and  the  first  to  con- 
gratulate him  on  his  success. 

It  was  to  this  cherished  pupil,  who  always  remained  his 
friend  and  benefactress,  that  Viete  dedicated  his  important 
work  on  mathematical  analysis  entitled  In  Artem  Analyti- 
cam  Isagoge.  The  words  of  the  dedication  are  a  tribute  to 
the  learning  and  the  genius  of  the  pupil  as  well  as  an 
expression  of  the  gratitude  of  the  teacher.  It  reads  as 
follows : 

"It  is  to  you  especially,  august  daughter  of  Melusine, 
that  I  am  indebted  for  my  proficiency  in  mathematics,  to 
attain  which  I  was  encouraged  by  your  love  for  this  sci- 
ence, as  well  as  your  great  knowledge  of  it,  and  by  your 
mastery  of  all  other  sciences,  which  one  cannot  too  much 
admire  in  a  person  of  your  noble  lineage.  * n 

More  interesting,  and  at  the  same  time  more  pathetic, 
were  the  relations  of  an  Italian  nun,  Sister  Maria  Celeste, 
and  the  man  whom  Byron  so  happily  designates  as 

"The  starry  Galileo,  with  his  woes." 

Sister  Celeste,  who  was  a  Franciscan  nun  in  the  convent  of 
St.  Matthew,  in  Arcetri,  was  the  great  astronomer's  eldest 
and  favorite  daughter.  They  were  greatly  attached  to 
1  This  passage  from  the  dedication  is  so  important  that  I  repro- 
duce the  Latin  original:  "Omnino  vitam,  aut,  si  quid  mihi  carius 
est,  vobis  autem  debeo,  tibi  autem,  o  diva  Melusinis,  omne  pre- 
sertim  Mathematicis  studium,  ad  quod  me  excitavit  turn  tuus  in  earn 
amor,  turn  summa  artis  illius,  quam  tenes,  peritia,  immo  vero  nun- 
quam  satis  admiranda  in  tuo  tamque  regii  et  nobilis  generis  sexu 
Encyclopaedia. ' '  Francois  Viete,  Inventeur  de  VAlghore  Moderne, 
p.  20,  par  Frederic  Bitter,  Paris,  1895. 


36*  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

each  other,  and  the  gentle  religieuse  was  not  only  her 
father's  confidante  and  consoler  in  the  hours  of  trial  and 
affliction,  but  was  also  his  inspirer  and  ever-vigilant  guar- 
dian angel.  She  watched  over  him,  not  as  a  daughter  over 
a  father,  but  as  a  mother  watches  over  an  only  son.1 

All  this  is  beautifully  exhibited  in  her  one  hundred  and 
twenty-four  letters  which  were  published  in  1891  for  the 
first  time.  A  few  of  these  letters,  it  is  true,  were  published 
as  early  as  1852  by  Alberi,  in  his  edition  of  the  complete 
works  of  Galileo,  and  others  were  given  to  the  press  at 
subsequent  dates ;  but  the  world  had  to  wait  more  than  two 
and  a  half  centuries  for  a  complete  collection  of  all  the 
known  letters  of  this  remarkable  daughter  of  an  illustrious 
sire. 

These  documents  are  precious  for  the  insight  they  give 
into  the  sterling  character  of  a  noble  woman,  but  they  are 
beyond  price  as  sources  of  information  respecting  the  tend- 
erly affectionate  relations  which  existed  between  her  and 
one  of  the  foremost  men  of  science,  not  only  of  his  own  age, 
but  of  all  time.  They  show  how  he  made  her  his  confidante 
in  all  his  undertakings,  and  how  she  was  his  amanuensis, 
his  counselor,  his  inspirer;  how  her  love  was  an  incentive 
to  the  work  that  won  for  him  undying  fame ;  how  she  was 
his  support  and  comfort  when  suffering  from  the  jealousy 
of  rivals  or  the  enmity  of  those  who  were  opposed  to  his 
teachings. 

These  letters  cover  a  period  of  nearly  eleven  years — the 
most  momentous  years  of  her  father's  busy  and  troubled 
life.  Now  playful,  quaint,  elfish,  then  serious,  vivid,  confi- 
dential, they  show  that  the  writer's  intelligence  was  as 
rare  as  her  nature  was  loyal  and  affectionate.  At  times 
she  half-apologizes  for  the  length  of  a  letter,  "but  you 

i ' *  E  nell '  amore  della  figlia  il  grande  astronomo  trovd  non 
soltanto  un  conf orto  a  suoi  affanni,  ma  anche  una  guida  benefica  alia 
quale  sembro  egli  abandonarsi  con  cieca  tenerezza  figliale."  La 
Storia  del  Feminismo,  p.  509,  by  G.  L.  Arrighi,  Florence,  1911. 


WOMEN    AS    INSPIRERS  365 

must  remember,"  she  adds  in  excuse,  "that  I  must  put 
into  this  paper  everything  that  I  should  chatter  to  you  in 
a  week." 

No  daughter  was  ever  prouder  of  her  father  or  loved 
him  with  a  more  abounding  love.  "I  pride  myself,"  she 
says,  "that  I  love  and  revere  my  dearest  father  more,  by 
far,  than  others  love  their  fathers,  and  I  clearly  perceive 
that,  in  return,  he  far  surpasses  the  greater  part  of  other  fa- 
thers in  the  love  which  he  has  for  me,  his  loved  daughter. ' ! 

When  he  was  ill  she  prepared  dishes  and  confections 
that  she  knew  would  tempt  his  appetite.  But  she  was  not 
satisfied  with  looking  after  the  welfare  of  his  body,  for 
she  took  occasion  to  send  with  the  cakes  and  preserved 
fruits  a  sermonette  for  the  benefit  of  his  soul. 

An  extract  from  one  of  her  letters  gives  an  insight  into 
the  character  of  this  devoted  daughter,  who,  Galileo  says 
in  a  letter  to  his  friend,  Elia  Diodati,  "was  a  woman  of 
exquisite  mind,  singular  goodness  and  most  tenderly  at- 
tached to  me. ' ' 

"Of  the  preserved  citron  you  ordered,"  she  writes  him 
on  the  nineteenth  of  December,  1625,  "I  have  only  been 
able  to  do  a  small  quantity.  I  feared  the  citrons  were  too 
shriveled  for  preserving,  and  so  they  proved.  I  send  two 
baked  pears  for  these  days  of  vigil.  But  the  greatest  treat 
of  all  I  send  you  is  a  rose,  which  ought  to  please  you  ex- 
tremely, seeing  what  a  rarity  it  is  at  this  season.  And 
with  the  rose  you  must  accept  its  thorns,  which  represent 
the  bitter  passion  of  Our  Lord,  while  the  green  leaves  rep- 
resent the  hope  we  may  entertain  that,  through  the  same 
sacred  passion,  we,  having  passed  through  the  darkness  of 
this  short  winter  of  our  mortal  life,  may  attain  to  the 
brightness  and  felicity  of  an  eternal  spring  in  heaven, 
which  may  our  gracious  God  grant  us  through  His 
mercy. '  * 

1  Galileo  Galilei  e  Suor  Celeste,  by  Antonio  Favaro,  p.  256  et  seq., 
Florence,  1891. 


366  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 


She  always  insists  upon  his  keeping  her  fully  informed 
about  his  studies  and  discoveries.  She  is  particular,  also, 
about  receiving  without  delay  copies  of  his  latest  publica- 
tions. "I  beg  you,"  she  writes  in  one  of  her  letters,  "to 
be  so  kind  as  to  send  me  that  book  of  yours  which  has 
just  been  published,  II  Saggiatore,  so  that  I  may  read  it; 
for  I  have  a  great  desire  to  see  it." 

On  another  occasion,  after  his  difficulties  with  the  Holy 
Office,  when  she  fancies  her  father  is  not  keeping  her  fully 
informed  about  the  subject  matter  of  his  writings,  she 
implores  him  to  tell  her  on  what  topic  he  is  engaged,  ' '  if , " 
she  archly  adds,  "it  be  something  I  can  understand  and 
you  are  not  afraid  that  I  will  blab. ' ' 

And  on  still  another  occasion  Sister  Celeste  reminds  her 
father  of  a  promise  of  his  to  send  her  a  small  telescope. 
From  this  we  should  infer  that  she  desired  to  repeat  the 
observations  on  the  heavenly  bodies  that  had  created  such 
a  sensation  in  the  learned  world,  and  which  had  given 
occasion  for  such  acrimonious  controversy. 

In  one  of  her  earlier  letters  Sister  Celeste  calls  her 
father's  attention  to  a  promise  of  his  to  spend  an  after- 
noon with  her  and  her  sister  Arcangela,  also  a  nun  in  the 
same  convent.  And,  referring  to  one  of  the  regulations 
of  the  Franciscan  cloister,  she  playfully  observes:  "You 
will  be  able  to  sup  in  the  parlor,  since  the  excommunication 
is  for  the  table  cloth" — 0  Sister  Celeste! — "and  not  for 
the  meats  thereon. ' 9 

What  would  one  not  give  for  a  stenographic  report  of 
the  conversations  held  that  afternoon  in  the  convent  garden 
of  Arcetri,  as  father  and  daughters  leisurely  strolled 
through  the  peaceful  enclosure,  all  quite  oblivious  of  the 
fleeting  hours?  How  interesting  would  be  a  faithful  rec- 
ord of  the  confidences  exchanged  at  the  frugal  meal  in 
the  evening  in  the  humble  parlor  of  S.  Matteo !  "We  would 
willingly  exchange  many  of  the  famous  Dialoghi  di  Galileo 


WOMEN    AS    INSPIRERS  36*7 

Galilei  for  a  verbatim  report  of  what  passed  between  Sister 
Celeste  and  the  father  whom  she  so  idolized.1 

Judging  from  her  letters,  she  had  many  questions  to  ask 
him  about  his  studies,  his  experiments,  his  discoveries,  his 
books,  as  well  as  about  more  personal  and  domestic  matters. 

Although  there  is  no  documentary  proof  of  the  fact,  yet 
there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  Galileo  had  taken 
personal  charge  of  the  education  of  this,  his  favorite  daugh- 
ter. She  shared  his  taste  for  science  and  inherited  not  a 
little  of  his  genius.  Such  being  the  case,  we  may  well 
believe  that  a  faithful  account  of  their  conversations  of 
that  day  would  be  not  only  of  surpassing  interest,  but 
would  also  throw  a  flood  of  light  on  many  questions  now 
ill  understood.  They  would  certainly  tend  to  fill  up  the 
numerous  lacunas  caused  by  the  disappearance  of  the  letters 
of  Galileo,  which  he  wrote  in  answer  to  those  of  his  ever- 
cherished  daughter.2 

1An  English  writer,  discussing  this  subject,  pertinently  observes: 
"For,  after  all,  is  it  not  the  personal  incidents  and  commonplaces 
of  life  that  gather  interest  as  the  centuries  roll  on,  while  its  more 
pretentious  events  often  drop  into  mere  literary  lumber?  How  much 
more  interesting  Dr.  Johnson's  incidental  admission,  'I  have  a 
strong  inclination,  Sir,  to  do  nothing  today,'  is  to  us  now  than 
many  of  his  more  formal  utterances.  And,  in  reality,  is  it  the 
personal  element  alone  that  is  in  the  long  run  perennial?  The  wise 
may  prate  as  they  will  about  the  importance  of  maintaining  the  con- 
tinuity of  history  and  of  handing  on  the  torch  of  science.  The 
world  cares  for  none  of  these  things;  they  interest  only  some  few 
political  economists  and  laborious  men.  What  does  the  crowd  and 
poor  little  Tom  Jones  and  his  nestful,  for  instance,  care  about  the 
fact  that  Cheops  was — at  any  rate  by  courteous  tradition — a  mighty 
man  of  valor  of  such  an  era  and  land?  But  little  Tom  Jones  and 
the  rest  of  us  would  become  mightily  interested  in  this  misty  monster 
of  many  traditions,  could  we  learn  in  some  magical  way  all  he 
thought,  hated  and  loved  in  his  inmost  heart  of  hearts."  The  Na- 
tional Review,  p.  461,  June,  1889. 

2  The  Duke  of  Peiresc,  in  a  letter  to  Gassendi,  regarding  Galileo, 
refers  to  certain  letters — tres  belles  epistres — of  the  great  philosopher, 
"a   une    sienne    fille    religieuse    sur   le    sujet    mesme    des    matierea 


368  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

They  would  also  show  more  clearly  than  any  facts  now 
available  what  an  unbounded  influence  the  gentle  nun  had 
over  the  greatest  intellect  of  his  time,  and  would,  more 
clearly  than  anything  in  her  correspondence,  exhibit  Sister 
Celeste  as  the  efficient  co-worker  and  the  abiding  inspirer 
of  the  father  of  modern  physics  and  astronomy. 

But,  although  we  have  no  record  of  this  soul-communion 
between  father  and  daughter  on  the  occasion  in  question; 
although  we  are  deprived  of  the  invaluable  letters  which 
he  wrote  in  reply  to  hers,  we  are,  nevertheless,  from  the 
evidence  at  hand,  justified  in  regarding  this  unique  pair 
as  being  ever  one  in  heart,  aspirations  and  ideals,  and 
comparable  in  their  mutual  influence  on  each  other  with 
any  of  those  famous  men  and  women  who,  through  achieve- 
ment on  the  one  side  and  inspiration  and  collaboration  on 
the  other,  have  ever  been  recognized  as  the  greatest  bene- 
factors of  their  race. 

One  of  Galileo's  countrymen,  G.  B.  Clemente  de  Nelli, 
was  right  when  he  declared  that,  had  it  not  been  for  the 
assistance  and  consolation  which  he  received  from  Sister 
Celeste,  Galileo  would  have  succumbed  to  the  blows  that 
were  showered  upon  him  during  the  most  trying  part  of 
his  career.  An  indication  of  this  is  given  in  one  of  the 
letters  written  by  Sister  Celeste  in  the  last  year  of  her 
life. 

traictees  en  son  dernier  livre. "  This  shows  that  Sister  Celeste  was 
kept  fully  informed  by  her  father  respecting  the  nature  and  con- 
tents of  his  various  works  while  he  was  preparing  them  for  the 
press.  It  implies,  likewise,  that  she  was  not  only  interested  in  them 
in  a  general  way,  but  that  she  was  able  to  read  them  intelligently 
and  appreciate  them  as  well. 

How  fondly  Galileo  treasured  the  letters  written  him  by  this 
daughter  of  predilection  is  made  known  to  us  by  Sister  Celeste  her- 
self, when  she  tells  him  in  one  of  her  letters  ' '  Kesto  conf usa  sentendo 
ch'ella  conservi  le  mie  lettere,  e  dubito  che  il  grande  affeto  que  mi 
porta  gliele  dimonstri  piu  compita  di  quello  che  sono."  Op.  cit., 
p.  317. 


1 


WOMEN    AS    INSPIRERS  369 

While  in  a  fit  of  despondency  and  imagining  his  friends 
had  forgotten  him,  Galileo,  in  a  moment  of  bitterness, 
wrote  in  a  letter  to  his  daughter:  "My  name  is  erased 
from  the  book  of  the  living. "  "  Nay, ' '  came  at  once  Sister 
Celeste 's  cheering  reply,  ' '  say  not  that  your  name  is  struck 
de  libro  viventium,  for  it  is  not  so ;  neither  in  the  greater 
part  of  the  world  nor  in  your  own  country.  Indeed,  it 
seems  to  me  that,  if  for  a  brief  moment  your  name  and 
fame  were  clouded,  they  are  now  restored  to  greater  bright- 
ness, at  which  I  am  much  astonished,  for  I  know  that  gen- 
erally Nemo  propheta  acceptus  est  in  patria  sua.  I  am 
afraid,  however,  if  I  begin  quoting  Latin,  I  shall  fall  into 
some  barbarism.  But,  of  a  truth,  you  are  loved  and 
esteemed  here  more  than  ever.,,1 

How  much  Sister  Celeste  was  to  her  father  in  every  way 
was  not  known  until  after  her  premature  death  in  her 
thirty-fourth  year.  He  was  never  the  same  man  after- 
ward. Disconsolate  and  broken,  he  fancied  he  heard  the 
voice  of  the  daughter  he  so  fondly  loved  resounding 
through  the  house.  Brooding  over  his  great  loss,  the  heart- 
broken old  man  writes  to  a  friend  in  words  of  infinite 
pathos,  "Mi  sento  continuamente  chiamare  delta  mia  diletta 
figlioula — I  continually  hear  myself  called  by  my  dearly 
beloved  daughter."  The  eighth  of  January,  1642,  he  an- 
swered her  call  and  went  to  join  her  in  a  better  world. 

Two  other  noted  investigators,  one  of  them  a  contempo- 
rary of  Galileo,  owed  much  to  the  inspiration  and  encour- 
agement which  they  received  from  women.  These  were 
Descartes  and  Leibnitz.  And  the  women  that  had  the 
most  influence  on  them  were  representatives  of  royal  fami- 
lies, who  were  famous  in  their  day  for  their  love  and 
knowledge  and  the  extent  of  their  intellectual  attainments. 

One  of  the  most  noted  of  these  was  Elizabeth  of  Bohemia, 
Princess  Palatine.  She  was  the  favorite  pupil  of  Descartes, 
and  it  was  to  her  that  he  dedicated  his  great  work,  Prin- 
i  Op.  cit.,  p.  404. 


370  .WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

cipia  Philosophic.  She,  he  declared,  understood  him  better 
than  any  one  else  he  had  ever  met,  for  "in  her  alone  were 
united  those  generally  separated  talents  for  metaphysics 
and  for  mathematics  which  are  so  characteristically  oper- 
ative in  the  Cartesian  system.,,1 

To  this  earnest  student  who  was  always  absorbed  in  the 
mysteries  of  metaphysics  and  the  problems  of  geometry, 
Descartes  could  refuse  nothing.  When  distance  separated 
them  he  continued  his  instructions  by  correspondence.  One 
of  the  results  of  this  correspondence  was  his  treatise  on 
Passions  de  I'Ame,  in  which  he  develops  certain  ethical 
views  suggested  by  the  Vita  Beata  of  Seneca. 

Another  distinguished  pupil  of  Descartes  who  exercised 
a  marked  influence  over  him  was  the  celebrated  daughter 
of  Gustavus  Adolphus,  Queen  Christine  of  Sweden.  A  mis- 
tress of  many  languages  and  an  ardent  votary  of  science, 
she  was  a  munificent  patron  of  scientific  men,  a  great  num- 
ber of  whom  she  had  attracted  to  her  court.  The  most  dis- 
tinguished of  these  was  Descartes,  to  whom  she  was  deeply 
attached,  and  with  whom  she  had  planned  great  things  for 
science  in  Sweden,  when  his  career  was  cut  short  by  a  pre- 
mature death. 

Not  the  least  influence  on  the  intellectual  life  of  Leibnitz 
was  Sophia  Charlotte,  Queen  of  Prussia  and  mother  of 
Frederick  the  Great.  She  was  the  niece  of  Descartes'  illus- 
trious friend,  Elizabeth  of  Bohemia,  and,  as  the  pupil  of 
Leibnitz,  quite  as  gloriously  associated  as  had  been  her 
aunt  with  the  father  of  Cartesianism. 

Leibnitz  was  as  distinguished  by  genius  as  his  royal  pupil 
was  by  birth.     Besides  being  eminent  as  a  philosopher  and 

1  In  the  dedication  of  his  Principles  of  Philosophy  he  addresses 
his  young  friend  and  pupil  in  the  following  words:  "Je  puis  dire 
avec  verity  que  je  ne  jamais  rencontre"  que  le  seul  esprit  de  votre 
altesse  auquel  l'un  et  1 'autre" — metaphysics  and  mathematics — "fut 
egalement  facile;  ce  qui  fait  que  j'ai  une  tres  juste  raison  de 
1  'estimer  incomparable. ' ' 


WOMEN    AS    INSPIRERS  371 

a  statesman,  he  shared  with  Newton  the  honor  of  discover- 
ing the  calculus.  Huxley  pronounced  him  "a  man  of  sci- 
ence, in  the  modern  sense,  of  the  first  rank,"  while  the 
King  of  Prussia  declared  of  him,  "He  represents  in  him- 
self a  whole  academy."  Through  the  cooperation  of 
Sophia  Charlotte  he  founded  the  Berlin  Academy  of  Sci- 
ences. For  her  he  wrote  one  of  the  most  notable  of  his 
productions — his  famed  Theodicy. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  estimate  the  influence  of  this 
learned  queen  on  Leibnitz,  but  it  was  undoubtedly  greater 
than  any  other  single  influence  whatever.  Her  death  was 
the  greatest  loss  he  ever  suffered,  and  when  she  was  no 
more,  the  beautiful  Berlin  suburb,  Charlottenburg — named 
after  her — where  he  had  been  so  happy  in  reading  and 
philosophizing  with  his  illustrious  pupil,  lost  all  attraction 
for  him. 

A  more  striking  illustration  of  woman's  helpfulness  is 
afforded  in  the  case  of  Francois  Huber,  the  celebrated  Swiss 
naturalist.  Although  blind  from  his  seventeenth  year,  he 
was  able  to  carry  on  researches  requiring  the  keenest  eye- 
sight and  the  closest  observation.  This  he  was  able  to  do 
through  the  affectionate  cooperation  of  his  devoted  wife, 
Marie  Aimee. 

When  her  friends  tried  to  dissuade  her  from  marrying 
Huber,  to  whom  she  had  been  engaged  for  some  time, 
saying  he  had  become  blind,  her  reply  was  worthy  of  her 
generous  and  noble  nature :  "He  then  needs  me  more  than 
ever. ' ' 

During  the  forty  years  of  their  married  life  her  tender- 
ness and  devotion  to  her  husband  were  as  unfailing  as  they 
were  inspiring.  He  worked  through  the  eyes  and  hands 
of  his  wife  as  if  they  were  his  own.  She  was  his  reader, 
his  observer,  his  secretary,  his  enthusiastic  collaborator  in 
all  those  investigations  that  have  rendered  him  so  famous. 
The  blind  man  devised  the  experiments  to  be  made,  and 
the   quick-witted   wife  executed  them   and   recorded  the 


372  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

observations  which  supplied  the  material  for  his  epoch- 
making  work  on  bees,  entitled  Nouvelles  Observations  sur 
les  Ah  exiles.  So  accurate  are  his  descriptions  of  the  habits 
of  the  winged  creatures,  to  the  study  of  which  he  devoted 
the  best  years  of  his  life,  that  one  would  think  his  great 
work  was  the  production,  not  of  a  man  who  had  been  blind 
for  a  quarter  of  a  century,  when  he  wrote  it,  but  of  one 
who  was  gifted  with  exceptional  keenness  of  vision  and 
powers  of  observation. 

"As  long  as  she  lived,"  exclaimed  the  great  naturalist 
after  his  trusty  Aimee's  death,  "I  was  not  sensible  of  the 
misfortune  of  being  blind. ' '  Nay,  more.  During  her  life- 
time, when,  though  sightless,  he  was  always  so  happy  in 
his  work,  he  went  so  far  as  to  aver  that  he  would  be  miser- 
able were  he  to  recover  his  eyesight.  '  *  I  should  not  know, ' ' 
he  declared,  "to  what  an  extent  a  person  in  my  condition 
couid  be  beloved.  Besides,  to  me,  my  wife  is  always  young, 
fresh  and  pretty,  which  is  no  light  matter.' '  He  could 
truly  say  of  her,  as  Wordsworth  said  of  his  sister  Dorothy, 

"She  gave  me  eyes,  she  gave  me  ears, 

****** 

And  love  and  thought  and  joy." 

We  hear  much  of  the  achievements  of  Galvani  and  Fara- 
day in  the  domain  of  electricity  and  electromagnetism,  but 
little  is  said  of  the  women  to  whom  they  were  so  greatly 
indebted  for  their  success  and  fame. 

It  was  Galvani 's  wife  who  first  directed  his  attention  to 
the  convulsions  of  a  frog's  leg  when  placed  near  an  elec- 
trical machine.  This  induced  him  to  make  those  celebrated 
investigations  which  led  to  the  foundation  of  a  new  science 
which  has  ever  since  been  identified  with  his  name. 

It  was  Mrs.  Marcet's  works  on  science — especially  her 
Conversations  on  Chemistry — that  inspired  Faraday  with  a 
love  of  science  and  blazed  for  him  that  road  in  chemical 


WOMEN    AS    INSPIRERS  373 

and  physical  experimentation  which  led  to  such  marvelous 
results.  He  was  always  proud  to  call  her  his  first  teacher, 
and  never  hesitated  to  attribute  to  her  that  taste  for  scien- 
tific research  for  which  he  became  so  preeminent.  And  it 
was  his  devoted  wife  who  was  not  only  a  helpmate  but  a 
soulmate  as  well  for  nearly  half  a  century,  that  had  very 
much  to  do  with  the  splendid  development  of  the  germ 
which  had  been  placed  in  his  youthful  mind  by  Mrs. 
Marcet. 

The  same  may  likewise  be  asserted  of  the  wives  of  two 
distinguished  geologists — Charles  Lyell  and  Xavier  Hom- 
maire  de  Hell.  Mrs.  Lyell  was  intimately  associated  with 
her  husband  in  all  his  scientific  undertakings,  and  her 
ready  intellect  contributed  immensely  toward  securing  for 
him  that  enviable  position  which  he  attained  of  being  the 
premier  geologist  of  his  century.  Mme.  Hommaire  de  Hell 
deserves  special  mention  in  the  history  of  geology  for  the 
invaluable  assistance  which  she  gave  her  husband  in  the 
scientific  exploration  of  the  basin  of  the  Caspian  Sea.  Not 
only  did  she  share  his  labors  and  perils  in  this  then  wild 
part  of  the  world,  and  collaborate  with  him  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  the  report  for  which  the  French  government  con- 
ferred on  him  the  Cross  of  the  Legion  of  Honor,  but  she 
also  wrote  unaided  the  two  descriptive  volumes  of  their 
great  work,  Steppes  de  la  Mer  Caspienne.  Her  part  of 
this  great  undertaking  received  the  special  commendation 
of  M.  Villemain,  who  was  the  minister  of  public  instruc- 
tion, and  had  she  not  belonged  to  the  disenfranchized  sex, 
she,  too,  would  have  been  decorated  with  the  Cross  of  the 
Legion  of  Honor. 

All  the  world  has  heard  of  the  daring  explorations  of 
Baker  and  Livingstone  in  the  Dark  Continent,  but  how 
few  are  aware  of  the  important  part  taken  in  their  great 
enterprises  by  their  devoted  and  heroic  wives?  Sir  Samuel 
Baker  immortalized  himself  by  discovering  Lake  Albert 
Nyanza,  one  of  the  main  sources  of  the  Nile,  but  in  attain- 


374  WOMAN   IN    SCIENCE 

ing  this  goal,  which  other  explorers  had  in  vain  essayed  to 
reach,  he  was  not  alone.  The  companion  of  his  triumph, 
as  of  his  trials  and  hardships,  was  Lady  Baker,  a  woman 
who,  although  delicately  reared,  was  as  brave  in  presence 
of  danger  as  she  was  resourceful  in  trials  and  difficulties. 
More  than  once  her  husband  owed  his  life  to  her  intrepidity 
and  presence  of  mind,  when  confronted  by  the  treacherous 
savages  of  equatorial  Africa;  and,  if  he  achieved  success 
where  others  failed,  it  was  in  no  slight  measure  due  to 
her  tact,  her  energy  and  perseverance  in  what  seemed  at 
times  a  forlorn  hope.  • '  She  had  learned  Arabic  with  him 
in  a  year  of  necessary  but  wearisome  delay;  her  mind 
traveled  with  his  mind  as  her  feet  had  followed  his  foot- 
steps." And,  when  after  preliminary  toils  without  num- 
ber, after  braving  dangers  from  climate,  disease  and  ruth- 
less savages,  they  finally  stood  on  the  shore  of  that  un- 
known sea  which  was  then  first  beheld  by  English  eyes,  she 
could,  in  contemplating  their  achievements  of  which  Albert 
Nyanza  was  the  crowning  glory,  exclaim  with  exaltation 
and  truth,  "Quorum  pars  magna  fui." 

"When  Livingstone  lost,  in  the  unexplored  valley  of  the 
Zambesi,  the  faithful  wife  who  had  been  his  inspiring  com- 
panion in  his  wanderings  in  darkest  Africa,  he  lost  com- 
pletely that  enthusiasm  for  deeds  of  high  emprise  that 
before  had  been  one  of  his  leading  characteristics.  "Writing 
to  his  distinguished  friend,  Sir  Roderick  Murchison,  he 
mournfully  declares:  "I  must  confess  this  heavy  stroke 
quite  takes  the  heart  out  of  me.  Everything  that  has  hap- 
pened only  made  me  more  determined  to  overcome  all  diffi- 
culties; but  after  this  sad  stroke  I  feel  crushed  and  void 
of  strength.  ...  I  shall  do  my  duty  still,  but  it  is  with 
a  darkened  horizon  that  I  again  set  about  it." 

The  noted  English  naturalist,  Frank  Buckland,  in  speak- 
ing of  the  aid  afforded  by  his  gifted  mother  to  her  dis- 
tinguished husband,  Dr.  Buckland,  writes  as  follows: 
"During  the  long  period  that  Dr.  Buckland  was  engaged 


WOMEN    AS    INSPIRERS  375 

in  writing  the  book  which  I  now  have  the  honor  of  editing, 
my  mother  sat  up  night  after  night,  for  weeks  and  months 
consecutively,  writing  to  my  father's  dictation;  and  this 
often  until  the  sun's  rays,  shining  through  the  shutters  at 
early  morn,  warned  the  husband  to  cease  from  thinking 
and  the  wife  to  rest  her  weary  hand. 

"Not  only  with  the  pen  did  she  render  material  assist- 
ance, but  her  natural  talent  in  the  use  of  her  pencil  en- 
abled her  to  give  accurate  illustrations  and  finished  draw- 
ings, many  of  which  are  perpetuated  in  Dr.  Buckland's 
works.  She  was  also  particularly  clever  and  neat  in  mend- 
ing broken  fossils.  There  are  many  specimens  in  the  Ox- 
ford Museum,  now  exhibiting  their  natural  forms  and 
beauty,  which  were  restored  by  her  perseverance  to  shape 
from  a  mass  of  broken  and  almost  comminuted  fragments. 
It  was  her  occupation  also  to  label  the  specimens,  which 
she  did  in  a  particularly  neat  way;  and  there  is  hardly  a 
fossil  or  a  bone  in  the  Oxford  Museum  which  has  not  her 
handwriting  upon  it. 

"Notwithstanding  her  devotion  to  her  husband's  pur- 
suits, she  did  not  neglect  the  education  of  her  children,  but 
occupied  her  mornings  in  superintending  their  instruction 
in  sound  and  useful  knowledge.  The  sterling  value  of  her 
labors  they  now,  in  after  life,  fully  appreciate,  and  feel 
most  thankful  that  they  were  blessed  with  so  good  a 
mother. ' n 

What  has  been  said  of  the  influence  and  cooperation  of 
the  women  already  named  may,  with  equal  truth,  be  af- 
firmed of  numberless  others  of  recent  as  well  as  of  earlier 
date.  It  is  particularly  true  of  the  wife  of  the  naturalist 
Heller  and  of  the  great  astronomer,  Kepler.  It  is  true  of 
the  wife  of  the  illustrious  mathematician,  the  Marquis  de 
l'Hopital.  She  not  only  shared  her  husband's  talent  for 
mathematics,  but  was  of  special  assistance  to  him  in  pre- 

i  Geology  and  Mineralogy  Considered  with  "Reference  to  Natural 
Theology,  by  William  Buckland,  p.  xxxvi,  London,  1858. 


376  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

paring  for  the  press  his  important  Analyse  des  Infiniment 
Petits.  It  is  true  of  the  wife  of  Asaph  Hall,  the  illustri- 
ous discoverer  of  the  satellites  of  Mars.  Often  he  was  on 
the  point  of  abandoning  the  quest  of  these  diminutive 
moons — which  no  one  had  ever  seen  but  which  his  calcula- 
tions led  him  to  believe  really  existed — but  he  was  encour- 
aged by  Mrs.  Hall  to  continue  his  observations,  with  the 
result  that  his  labors  and  vigils  were  at  last  rewarded  by 
the  startling  discovery  of  Deimos  and  Phobos. 

And  there  is  Mme.  Pasteur,  who,  in  her  way,  was  quite 
as  important  a  factor  in  the  scientific  career  of  her  im- 
mortal husband  as  were  the  women  just  mentioned  in  the 
lives  of  their  husbands,  to  whose  triumphs  they  so  materi- 
ally contributed. 

One  of  the  great  Frenchman's  biographers  has  truly  de- 
clared that  "it  is  impossible  rightly  to  appreciate  Pasteur 's 
life  without  some  understanding  of  the  immense  assistance 
which  he  received  in  his  home.  "Whether  in  discussing 
forms  of  crystals,  watching  over  experiments,  shielding 
her  husband  from  all  the  daily  fret  of  life,  or  busy  at  the 
customary  evening  task  of  writing  to  his  dictation,  Madame 
Pasteur  was  at  once  his  most  devoted  assistant  and  incom- 
parable companion.  His  surroundings  at  home  were  en- 
tirely subordinated  to  his  scientific  life,  and  his  family 
shared  with  him  both  his  trials  and  his  triumphs.  At  the 
time  when  Pasteur  was  engrossed  with  the  study  of  an- 
thrax, and,  after  many  difficulties  and  disappointments, 
had  at  length  succeeded  in  preparing  a  vaccine  against  it, 
he  at  once  hurried  from  the  laboratory  to  communicate  his 
great  discovery  first  to  his  wife  and  daughter. ' n 

i  Pasteur,  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Percy  Frankland,  p.  26  et  seq.,  Lon- 
don, 1898.  A  French  writer  referring  to  this  happy  discovery  ex- 
presses himself  as  follows:  "Quand  Pasteur  trouva  le  vaccin  de 
charbon,  il  remonta  triomphant  de  son  laboratoire  et  les  larmes  lui 
vinrent  aux  yeux  en  embrassant  sa  femme  et  sa  fille  auxquelles  il 
annoncait  sa  victoire. *'    Bevue  Encyclopedique,  p.  20,  Jan.  15,  1895. 


WOMEN    AS    INSPIRERS  377 

It  was  particularly  during  his  long  and  arduous  re- 
searches on  the  disease  of  silkworms  that  Pasteur  found  his 
wife's  aid  of  incalculable  value.  For  Mme.  Pasteur  and 
her  daughter  then  constituted  themselves  veritable  silk- 
worm rearers.  They  collected  mulberry  leaves,  sorted 
larva?,  and  were  unremitting  in  their  labors  during  the 
continuance  of  this  memorable  investigation.  And  not 
only  in  the  silk-producing  districts  of  Southern  France 
were  they  thus  occupied,  but  also  in  a  special  laboratory  in 
Nicole  Normale,  after  their  return  to  Paris. 

And,  when  in  the  midst  of  these  researches,  on  the  suc- 
cessful outcome  of  which  hinged  one  of  the  greatest  sources 
of  national  wealth,  the  indefatigable  savant  was  stricken 
with  paralysis  and  his  life  was  for  a  while  despaired  of,  it 
was  again  his  devoted  helpmate  that  afforded  him  solace  in 
suffering  and  exercised  a  supervision  over  those  experi- 
ments which  the  great  man  was  still  conducting  almost  in 
the  presence  of  death. 

That  Pasteur's  life  was  prolonged  for  a  quarter  of  a 
century  after  the  terrible  attack  of  hemiplegia  in  1868, 
that  he  was  able  to  unravel  the  deep  mysteries  of  microbian 
life,  that  he  was  able  to  make  discoveries  whose  economical 
value  to  France  was,  in  the  estimation  of  Professor  Hux- 
ley, more  than  sufficient  to  liquidate  the  immense  indem- 
nity of  five  billion  francs  exacted  from  his  country  by 
Germany  at  the  termination  of  the  Franco-Prussian  war, 
that  he  was  able,  especially  during  these  fruitful  twenty- 
five  years,  to  render  his  "scientific  life  like  a  luminous 
trail  in  the  great  night  of  the  infinitely  little  in  those 
ultimate  abysses  of  being  where  life  is  born, ' '  was,  in  great 
measure,  due  to  the  unceasing  care,  the  untiring  vigilance 
and  the  sympathetic  collaboration  of  one  of  the  most  de- 
voted of  wives  and  most  noble  and  whole-souled  of  women. 

What  has  been  said  of  the  influence  and  helpfulness  of 
Mme.  Pasteur  can  be  asserted  with  even  greater  truth  of 
Elizabeth  Agassiz  and  of  Caroline  Herschel.     For  these 


378  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

two  women,  apart  from  the  assistance  they  gave  to  a  loved 
husband  and  an  idolized  brother,  in  the  labors  that  made 
them  so  famous,  both  achieved  distinction  for  their  con- 
tributions to  the  sciences  which  they  individually  culti- 
vated with  such  splendid  results.  And  had  they  elected 
to  devote  all  their  time  to  scientific  research,  instead  of 
giving  the  greater  part  of  it  to  those  to  whom  they  were 
so  devotedly  attached,  who  can  tell  how  much  more  bril- 
liant would  have  been  their  achievements  and  how  much 
greater  would  have  been  the  fame  they  would  have  won  for 
themselves.  Both  of  them  were  dowered  in  an  eminent 
degree  with  taste  and  talent  for  science,  and  had  they 
chosen  to  make  it  the  sole  object  of  their  life  work,  there 
can  be  no  doubt  that  their  personal  contributions  to  natural 
history  and  astronomy  would  have  been  far  greater  than 
they  were.  As  it  was,  they  were  so  overshadowed  by  those 
for  whom  they  labored  with  such  unselfishness  and  loyalty 
that  the  real  value  of  their  work  is  too  often  forgotten 
when  there  is  question  of  the  scientific  triumphs  of  Louis 
Agassiz  and  Sir  William  Herschel. 

But  they  willed  it  so.  They  gladly  effaced  themselves 
that  those  whom  they  loved  with  such  a  deep  and  abiding 
love  might  shine  the  more  brightly  in  the  firmament  of 
science.  They  preferred  to  spend  and  be  spent  in  strength- 
ening the  great  workers  and  leaders  with  whose  lives  their 
own  were  so  thoroughly  identified — "Inspiring  them  with 
courage,  keeping  faith  in  their  own  ideas  alive,  in  days  of 
darkness 

'When  all  the  world  seems  adverse  to  desert. '  " 

Both  of  these  noble  women  had  the  same  quality  in  com- 
mon— absolute  devotion  and  unswerving  faith  in  those  to 
whose  success  and  happiness  they  had  dedicated  their  lives. 
They  sought  nothing  for  themselves,  they  thought  nothing 
of  themselves.    They  both  had,  to  borrow  the  idea  of  an- 


WOMEN    AS    INSPIRERS  379 

)ther,  an  intense  power  of  sympathy,  a  generous  love  of 
giving  themselves  to  the  service  of  others,  which  enabled 
them  to  transfuse  the  force  of  their  own  personality  into 
the  objects  to  which  they  dedicated  their  powers. 

In  the  preface  of  the  joint  work  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Agassiz 
entitled  A  Journey  in  Brazil,  that  delightful  volume  which 
throws  such  a  flood  of  light  on  the  fauna  and  flora  of  the 
A.mazon  valley,  occur  the  following  significant  words  re- 
garding the  share  each  had  in  producing  the  book :  ' '  Our 
separate  contributions  have  become  so  closely  interwoven 
that  we  should  hardly  know  how  to  disconnect  them. ' '  So 
was  it  with  all  their  undertakings.  There  was  the  same 
common  interest,  the  same  unity  of  purpose,  the  same 
unselfish  devotion  to  the  cause  of  science  during  those  long 
pears  of  toil  which  were  so  prolific  in  results  of  supreme 
importance.  Reading  between  the  lines  in  A  Journey  in 
Brazil,  and  in  Louis  Agassiz,  His  Life  and  Correspondence, 
written  by  Mrs.  Agassiz,  we  can  easily  fancy  that  the  great 
naturalist  owed  as  much,  if  not  more,  to  his  wife's  never- 
failing  sympathy  and  inspiration  as  to  her  active  coopera- 
tion in  his  work,  and  we  are  ready  to  apply  to  her  the 
words  of  Longfellow  when  he  sings: 

"And  whenever  the  way  seemed  long, 
Or  his  heart   began   to  fail, 
She  would  sing  a  more  wonderful  song 
Or  tell  a  more  wonderful  tale." 

As  to  Caroline  Herschel  as  a  helper  and  sustainer  of  her 
illustrious  brother,  too  much  cannot  be  said.  "In  the  days 
when  he  gave  up  a  lucrative  career  that  he  might  devote 
himself  to  astronomy,  it  was  owing  to  her  thrift  and  care 
that  he  was  not  harassed  by  the  rankling  vexations  of 
money  matters.  She  had  been  his  helper  and  assistant 
when  he  was  a  leading  musician;  she  became  his  helper 
and  assistant  when  he  gave  himself  up  to  astronomy.  By 
sheer  force  of  will  and  devoted  affection  she  learned  enough 


380  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

of  mathematics  and  of  methods  of  calculation,  which  t( 
those  unlearned  seem  mysteries,  to  be  able  to  commit  t( 
writing  his  researches.  She  became  his  assistant  in  th< 
workshop ;  she  helped  him  to  grind  and  polish  his  mirrors 
she  stood  beside  his  telescope  in  the  nights  of  midwinter, 
to  write  down  his  observations  when 'the  very  ink  was 
frozen  in  the  bottle.  She  kept  him  alive  by  her  care; 
thinking  nothing  of  herself,  she  lived  for  him.  She  loved 
him  and  believed  in  him,  and  helped  him  with  all  her  heart 
and  with  all  her  strength.  She  might  have  become  a  dis- 
tinguished woman  on  her  own  account,  for  with  the  seven- 
foot  Newtonian  sweeper  given  her  by  her  brother  she  dis- 
covered eight  comets  first  and  last.  But  the  pleasure  of 
seeking  and  finding  for  herself  was  scarcely  tested.  She 
'minded  the  heavens'  for  her  brother;  she  worked  for  him, 
not  for  herself,  and  the  unconscious  self-denial  with  which 
she  gave  up  'her  own  pleasure  in  the  use  of  her  sweeper* 
is  not  the  least  beautiful  picture  in  her  life. ' n 

While  recounting  the  achievements  of  women  who  di- 
rectly or  indirectly  contributed  to  our  knowledge  of  the 
earth  and  what  it  contains  we  cannot  forget  what  the 
world  owes  to  the  gracious  and  glorious  Isabella  of  Castile. 
For  it  is  to  her  probably  as  much  as  to  Columbus  that  a 
new  continent  was  discovered  at  the  close  of  the  fifteenth 
century.  For,  while  the  doctors  of  Salamanca — most  of 
whom  were  what  Galileo  called  ' '  paper  philosophers, ' '  men 
who  fancied  that  a  correct  knowledge  of  the  physical  uni- 
verse was  to  be  obtained  by  a  collation  of  ancient  texts — 
were  denouncing  the  great  navigator  as  an  idle  dreamer, 
and  quoting  the  ill-founded  notions  of  Pliny  and  Aristotle 
to  prove  the  impossibility  of  his  carrying  out  his  project, 
Isabella  was  quietly  revolving  in  her  own  mind  the  reasons 
which  Columbus  had  adduced  in  favor  of  his  great  enter- 
prise.    Having  satisfied  herself  that  his  views  were  suffi- 

1  Memoir  and  Correspondence  of  Caroline  Rerschel,  London,  1879, 
pp.  vi  and  vii,  by  Mrs.  John  Herschel.  Cf.  Chap.  IV  of  this  Vol. 


WOMEN    AS    INSPIRERS  381 

ciently  probable  to  justify  action,  she  was  prepared  to 
make  any  sacrifices  to  have  his  plans  executed.  The  re- 
sult of  her  decision  is  but  another  illustration  of  the  value 
of  woman's  quick  intuition,  as  against  the  slow  reasoning 
processes  of  philosophers  and  men  of  science. 

Again,  while  considering  what  women  have  accomplished 
for  the  advancement  of  science  by  inspiration  and  collabo- 
ration, we  must  not  lose  sight  of  what  they  have  done  by 
suggestion.  For,  as  John  Stuart  Mill  well  observes:  "It 
no  doubt  often  happens  that  a  person  who  has  not  widely 
and  accurately  studied  the  thoughts  of  others  on  a  subject 
has  by  natural  sagacity  a  happy  intuition  which  he  can 
suggest  but  cannot  prove,  which  yet,  when  matured,  may 
be  an  important  addition  to  knowledge :  but,  even  then,  no 
justice  can  be  done  to  it  until  some  other  person,  who  does 
possess  the  previous  acquirements,  takes  it  in  hand,  tests  it, 
gives  it  a  scientific  or  practical  form,  and  fits  it  into  its 
place  among  the  existing  truths  of  philosophy  or  science. 
Is  it  supposed  that  such  felicitous  thoughts  do  not  occur  to 
women?  They  occur  by  hundreds  to  every  woman  of 
intellect ;  but  they  are  mostly  lost  for  want  of  a  husband 
or  friend  who  has  the  other  knowledge  which  can  enable 
him  to  estimate  them  properly  and  bring  them  before  the 
world;  and,  even  when  they  are  brought  before  it,  they 
usually  appear  as  his  ideas,  not  their  real  author's.  Who 
can  tell  how  many  of  the  original  thoughts  put  forth  by 
male  writers  belong  to  a  woman  by  suggestion,  to  them- 
selves only  by  verifying  and  working  out  ?  If  I  may  judge 
by  my  own  case,  a  very  large  proportion  indeed. ' n 

i  The  Subjection  of  Women,  pp.  98,  99,  London,  1909. 

The  idea  herein  expressed  is  beautifully  accentuated  in  the  touch- 
ing dedication  to  the  author's  work  On  Liberty,  which  reads  as 
follows : 

"To  the  beloved  and  deplored  memory  of  her  who  was  the  in- 
spirer,  and  in  part  the  author,  of  all  that  is  best  in  my  writings — 
the  friend  and  wife  whose  exalted  sense  of  truth  and  right  was  my 
strongest  incitement,  and  whose  approbation  was  my  chief  reward — 


382  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

Nor  should  we  forget  those  active  and  energetic  women — 
and  their  number  is  much  greater  than  is  ordinarily  sup- 
posed— whose  husbands,  although  often  endowed  with 
genius  of  the  highest  order,  were  indolent  by  temperament 
and  disorderly  and  unmethodical  by  nature.  Such  men 
would,  in  the  majority  of  cases,  have  run  to  seed  had  not 
their  genius  been  given  special  force  and  impulse  by  their 
vigorous  and  methodical  helpmates.  Sir  William  Hamil- 
ton, the  most  learned  philosopher  of  the  Scottish  school,  is 
a  striking  instance  in  point ;  for  it  was  due  almost  entirely 
to  the  stimulation  he  received  from  his  ever  active  wife 
that  he  was  always  kept  keyed  up  to  his  fullest  working 
capacity  as  a  philosopher  and  became  recognized  the  world 
over  as  one  of  the  commanding  intellects  of  his  age. 

"Lady  Hamilton,' '  writes  Professor  Veitch  in  his  Mem- 
oir of  Sir  William  Hamilton,  "had  a  power  of  keeping  her 
husband  up  to  what  he  had  to  do.  She  contended  wisely 
against  a  sort  of  energetic  indolence  which  characterized 
him,  and  which,  while  he  was  always  laboring,  made  him 
apt  to  put  aside  the  task  actually  before  him,  sometimes 
diverted  by  subjects  of  inquiry  suggested  in  the  course  of 
study  on  the  matter  in  hand,  sometimes  discouraged  by  the 
difficulty  of  reducing  to  order  the  immense  mass  of  ma- 

I  dedicate  this  volume.  Like  all  that  I  have  written  for  many- 
years,  it  belongs  as  much  to  her  as  to  me;  but  the  work  as  it  stands 
has  had,  in  a  very  insufficient  degree,  the  inestimable  advantage 
of  her  revision,  some  of  the  most  important  portions  having  been 
reserved  for  a  more  careful  re-examination,  which  they  are  now  never 
destined  to  receive.  Were  I  but  capable  of  interpreting  to  the  world 
one-half  the  great  thoughts  and  noble  feelings  which  are  buried  in 
her  grave,  I  should  be  the  medium  of  a  greater  benefit  to  it  than 
is  ever  likely  to  arise  from  anything  I  can  write,  unprompted  and 
unassisted  by  her  all  but  unrivalled  wisdom.' ' 

The  chivalrous  sentiments  expressed  in  this  generous  tribute  by 
one  of  the  deepest  thinkers  of  his  time,  to  the  memory  of  his  noble 
and  gifted  life-companion,  extravagant  as  they  may  seem,  are  but 
echoes  of  similar  sentiments  often  voiced  before  by  the  world's  great- 
est leaders  of  thought  and  science. 


WOMEN    AS    INSPIRERS  383 

terials  he  had  accumulated  in  connection  with  it.  Then 
ier  resolution  and  cheerful  disposition  sustained  and  re- 
freshed him,  and  never  more  so  than  when,  during  the 
last  twelve  years  of  his  life,  his  bodily  strength  was  broken 
and  his  spirit,  though  languid,  yet  ceased  not  from  mental 
toil.  The  truth  is  that  Sir  William's  marriage,  his  com- 
paratively limited  circumstances,  and  the  character  of  his 
wife  supplied  to  a  nature  that  would  have  been  contented 
to  spend  its  mighty  energies  in  work  that  brought  no  re- 
ward but  in  the  doing  of  it,  and  that  might  never  have 
been  made  publicly  known  or  available,  the  practical  force 
and  impulse  which  enabled  him  to  accomplish  what  he 
actually  did  in  literature  and  philosophy.  It  was  this  in- 
fluence, without  doubt,  which  saved  him  from  utter  absorp- 
tion in  his  world  of  rare,  noble  and  elevated  but  ever- 
increasingly  unattainable  ideas.  But  for  it  the  serene  sea 
of  abstract  thought  might  have  held  him  becalmed  for  life ; 
and,  in  the  absence  of  all  utterance  of  definite  knowledge 
of  his  conclusions,  the  world  might  have  been  left  to  an 
ignorant  and  mysterious  wonder  about  the  unprofitable 
scholar. ' n 

i  Memoir  of  Sir  Wmiam  Hamilton,  by  John  Veitch,  p.  136  et  seq., 
Edinburgh,  1869. 

It  is  frequently  said  that  women,  unlike  men,  are  indifferent  to 
fame.  This  may  be  true  so  far  as  they  are  personally  concerned; 
but  it  is  certainly  not  true  of  them  in  regard  to  their  husbands,  or 
the  men  for  whom  they  have  a  genuine  affection.  This  is  abundantly 
proved  by  the  lives  of  Mme.  Huber,  Mme.  Pasteur,  Caroline  Herschel 
and  Lady  Hamilton,  not  to  name  others  who  have  been  mentioned 
in  the  foregoing  pages.  After  Sir  William  Hamilton,  at  the  age 
of  fifty-six,  had  been  stricken  by  hemiplegia  on  the  right  side,  as 
the  result  of  over-work,  his  faithful  wife  became  for  twelve  years 
eyes,  hands  and  even  mind  for  him.  She  read  and  consulted  books 
for  him,  and  helped  him  to  prepare  his  lectures  and  the  works  which 
have  given  him  such  celebrity.  "Everything  that  was  sent  to  the 
press  and  all  the  courses  of  lectures  were  written  by  her,  either  to 
dictation  or  from  copy."  And  when  we  remember  that  the  lec- 
tures and  books  were  of  the  most  abstruse  character  and  that  Lady 


384  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 


"What  has  been  so  far  said,  important  as  it  is,  does  not 
tell  the  whole  story  of  woman's  influence  on  men  of  sci^ 
ence,  and  consequently  on  the  progress  of  science.  We 
should  not  have  an  adequate  conception  of  women  as  in- 
spirers  and  collaborators  if  we  did  not  advert  to  certain 
faculties  which  they  usually  possess  in  a  more  eminent  de- 
gree than  the  most  of  men.  It  is  a  well-known  fact  that 
in  many  of  the  affairs  of  life  women  are  more  practical^ 
have  more  tact,  and  possess  keener  and  quicker  perceptions: 
than  men.  They  are,  too,  more  ideal,  more  romantic  and 
more  enthusiastic. 

Men  of  science  in  their  investigations  usually  proceed  by 
the  slow  and  laborious  process  of  collecting  facts  and  col- 
lating phenomena,  either  by  observation  or  experiment,  or 
both,  and,  from  the  observed  facts  and  phenomena,  they 
formulate  a  law  which  explains  and  correlates  them.  This 
is  known  as  induction,  a  method  which  proceeds  from  facts 
to  ideas. 

Women,  on  the  contrary,  are  rather  disposed  to  proceed 
from  ideas  to  facts ;  to  explain  phenomena  from  ideas  which 
already  exist  in  the  mind,  without  having  recourse  to  the 
slow  process  of  induction.  This  is  the  deductive  method, 
and  is  the  very  reverse  of  that  employed  by  the  average 
man  of  science.  It  would,  however,  be  a  mistake  to  main- 
tain that  the  inductive  method  is  always  employed,  for 
such  is  not  the  case.  More  than  a  half  a  century  ago  the 
historian,  Buckle,  in  a  notable  lecture  delivered  in  the 
Royal  Institution  of  Great  Britain,  directed  attention  to 
the  fact  that  some  of  the  greatest  scientific  discoveries  had 
been  made  by  the  deductive  method. 

One  of  these  was  Newton's  epoch-making  discovery  of 
universal  gravitation.     While  sitting  in  a  garden  he  saw 

Hamilton  was  associated  with  her  husband  in  his  recondite  work 
throughout  his  long  and  brilliant  career,  we  must  confess  that  her 
conduct  was  not  only  heroic  to  a  degree,  but  also  that  the  fame  of 
the  one  she  loved  was  to  her  a  matter  of  the  deepest  concern. 


WOMEN    AS    INSPIRERS  385 

an  apple  fall,  and  this  simple  fact  caused  him  to  advance 
from  idea  to  idea,  and  to  be  carried,  by  what  Tyndall  loved 
to  call  "the  scientific  use  of  the  imagination, ' '  into  the 
distant  realms  of  space.  And,  heedless  of  the  operations 
of  nature,  neither  observing  nor  experimenting,  the  great 
philosopher,  by  pure  a  priori  reasoning,  "completed  the 
most  sublime  and  majestic  speculation  that  it  ever  entered 
into  the  heart  of  man  to  conceive.,,  "It  was,"  as  Buckle 
well  observes,  "the  triumph  of  an  idea.  It  was  the  au- 
dacity of  genius.' '  It  was  also  the  triumph  of  the  deduc- 
tive method  in  the  solution  of  a  problem  that  one  not  a 
genius  could  have  worked  out  only  by  the  long  and  toil- 
some process  of  induction. 

Similarly,  the  great  law  of  metamorphosis  in  plants,  "ac- 
cording to  which  the  stamens,  pistils,  corollas,  bracts,  petals 
and  so  forth,  of  every  plant,  are  simply  modified  leaves," 
was  discovered  not  by  an  inductive  investigator,  but  by  a 
poet.  "Guided  by  his  brilliant  imagination,  his  passion 
for  beauty  and  his  exquisite  conception  of  form  which  sup- 
plied him  with  ideas, ' '  Germany 's  greatest  poet,  Goethe,  by 
reasoning  deductively,  was  able  to  generalize  a  law  which 
lesser  minds  could  never  have  arrived  at  except  through 
the  application  of  the  inductive  method. 

So  also  was  it  in  the  science  of  crystallography.  Its 
foundations  were  laid,  not  by  a  mineralogist  nor  a  mathe- 
matician, as  one  would  suppose,  but  by  one  of  strong  imagi- 
nation and  marked  poetic  temperament.  Like  Goethe, 
Haiiy  was  led  by  his  ideas  of  beauty  and  symmetry  to 
work  deductively  on  the  problem  before  him.  Descending 
from  ideas  to  facts,  he  finally  succeeded,  after  a  long  series 
of  subsequent  labors,  in  reading  "the  riddle  which  had 
baffled  his  able  but  unimaginative  predecessors." 

It  is  the  possession  of  this  deductive  faculty,  so  charac- 
teristic of  men  of  genius — their  ability  to  reach  conclusions 
directly,  as  great  mathematicians  perceive  inferences  which 
those  less  gifted  reach  only  after  pages  of  elaborate  calcu- 


386  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

lations — which  enable  women,  "not  indeed  to  make  scien- 
tific discoveries,  but  to  exercise  the  most  momentous  and 
salutary  influence  over  the  method  by  which  scientific  dis- 
coveries are  made.,,  For,  as  Buckle  points  out,  men  of 
science  are  too  inclined  to  employ  the  inductive  method  to 
the  exclusion  of  the  deductive.1  They  have  become  slaves 
to  the  tyranny  of  facts,  and,  as  such,  are  incompetent  to 
further  the  progress  of  science  as  they  would  by  using 
both  methods  instead  of  one.  And  their  slavery  would  be 
still  more  complete  and  ignominious  were  it  not  for  the 
great  though  unconcious  service  to  science  rendered  by 
women  who  have  kept  alive  the  deductive  habit  of  thought. 
1 '  Their  turn  of  thought,  their  habits  of  mind,  their  conver- 
sation, their  influence,  insensibly  extending  over  the  whole 
surface  of  society  and  frequently  penetrating  its  intimate 
structure,  have,  more  than  all  other  things  put  together, 
tended  to  raise  us  up  into  an  ideal  world,  lift  us  from  the 
dust  in  which  we  are  too  prone  to  grovel,  and  develop 
in  us  those  germs  of  imagination  which  even  the  most 
sluggish   and   apathetic  understandings   in  some  degree 


From  the  foregoing  observations  it  is  manifest  that  the 
best  results  to  science  are  secured  when  men  and  women 
work  together — men  supplying  the  slow,  logical  reasoning 

i ' l  Induction  is,  indeed,  a  mighty  weapon  laid  up  in  the  armory 
of  the  human  mind,  and  by  its  aid  great  deeds  have  been  accom- 
plished and  noble  conquests  have  been  won.  But  in  that  armory  there 
is  another  weapon,  I  will  not  say  of  stronger  make,  but  certainly 
of  keener  edge;  and,  if  that  weapon  had  been  oftener  used  during 
the  present  and  preceding  century,  our  knowledge  would  be  far  more 
advanced  than  it  actually  is.  If  the  imagination  had  been  more 
cultivated,  if  there  had  been  a  closer  union  between  the  spirit  of 
poetry  and  the  spirit  of  science,  natural  philosophy  would  have  made 
greater  progress,  because  natural  philosophers  would  have  taken  a 
higher  and  more  successful  aim,  and  would  have  enlisted  on  their 
side  a  wider  range  of  human  sympathies. ' '  Buckle:  The  Influence 
of  Women  on  the  Progress  of  Knowledge. 


WOMEN    AS    INSPIRERS  Sd? 

power,  women  the  vivid,  far-reaching  imagination;  men 
generalizing  from  facts,  women  from  ideas;  men  working 
chiefly  by  induction,  women  principally  by  deduction.  For 
thus  collaborating,  each  with  his  or  her  predominant  facul- 
ties, the  two  combined  possess  in  a  measure  the  elements 
which  go  to  make  up  a  man  or  Woman  of  genius  and  which 
enable  them  to  achieve  far  more  for  the  advancement  of 
science  than  would  otherwise  be  possible. 

No  one  has  ever  given  more  eloquent  expression  to  this 
truth  than  John  Stuart  Mill,  who  was  as  keen  as  an  ob- 
server as  he  was  profound  as  a  thinker.  Writing  on  the 
subject  under  discussion,  he  does  not  hesitate  to  say: 
"Hardly  anything  can  be  of  greater  value  to  a  man  of 
theory  and  speculation  who  employs  himself,  not  in  collect- 
ing materials  of  knowledge  by  observation,  but  in  working 
them  up  by  processes  of  thought  into  comprehensive  truths 
of  science  and  laws  of  conduct,  than  to  carry  on  his  specu- 
lations in  the  companionship  and  under  the  criticism  of  a 
really  superior  woman.  There  is  nothing  comparable  to 
it  for  keeping  his  thoughts  within  the  limits  of  real  things 
and  the  actual  facts  of  nature.  A  woman  seldom  runs 
wild  after  an  abstraction.  .  .  .  Women's  thoughts  are 
thus  as  useful  in  giving  reality  to  those  of  thinking  men  as 
men's  thoughts  in  giving  width  and  largeness  to  those  of 
women.  In  depth,  as  distinguished  from  breadth,  I  greatly 
doubt  if  even  now  women,  compared  with  men,  are  at  any 
disadvantage."1 

We  have  already  learned,  from  his  own  avowal,  how 
much  Mill  was  beholden  to  his  wife  for  her  active  coopera- 
tion in  the  production  of  those  works  of  his  which  have 
exerted  so  profound  an  influence  on  many  phases  of  mod- 
ern thought.  A  more  striking  illustration  of  the  value  of 
woman's  assistance,  but  in  the  domain  of  biology,  is  found 
in  the  biography  of  the  late  Professor  Huxley.    By  those 

i  The  Subjection  of  Women,  ut  sup.,  p.  87. 


388  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

who  know  this  distinguished  man  of  science — so  remarkable 
for  his  intellectual  vigor — only  from  his  writings,  the  ii 
pression  would  be  gleaned  that  he  was  one  of  the  most  ind< 
pendent  of  thinkers,  and  that  his  utterances  on  all  sub- 
jects were  absolutely  personal  and  entirely  unmodified  by 
suggestion  or  criticism  from  any  quarter. 

How  far  this  view  is  from  being  correct  is  found  in  the 
statement  by  his  son  that  his  father  * '  invariably  submitted 
his  writings  to  the  criticism  of  his  wife  before  they  were 
seen  by  any  other  eye.  To  her  judgment  was  due  the 
toning  down  of  many  a  passage  which  erred  by  excess  of 
vigor,  and  the  clearing  up  of  phrases  which  would  be  ob- 
scure to  the  public.  In  fact,  if  any  essay  met  with  her 
approval,  he  felt  sure  it  would  not  fail  of  its  effect  when 
published. ■ n  She  was  not  only  his  "help  and  stay  for 
forty  years ;  in  his  struggles  ready  to  counsel,  in  adversity 
to  comfort/ '  but,  over  and  above  this,  she  was  "the  critic 
whose  judgment  he  valued  above  almost  any,  and  whose 
praise  he  cared  most  to  win" — the  other  self  who  made 
his  life  work  possible.2 

An  intelligent,  sympathetic  pair  of  this  kind — and  this, 
as  we  have  seen,  is  but  one  of  a  multitude  which  illumi- 
nates and  beautifies  the  history  of  science — are  competent 
to  achieve  wonders.  They  are  like  "the  two-celled  heart 
beating  with  one  full  stroke" — 

"Two  plummets  dropt  for  one  to  sound  the  abyss 
Of  science,  and  the  secrets  of  the  mind." 

The  woman  is  then  truly,  as  De  Lamennais  in  Scriptural 
phrases  has  it, ' '  Man 's  companion,  man 's  assistant,  bone  of 
his  bone  and  flesh  of  his  flesh,"  and,  in  her  sublime  and 
endearing  character  so  complete  in  every  relation  of  life, 

*  Life  and  Letters  of  Thomas  Henry  Huxley,  by  his  son  Leonard 
Huxley,  Vol.  I,  p.  324,  New  York,  1900. 
gf  2  Ibid.,  p.  39,  Vol.  II,  p.  458. 


WOMEN    AS    INSPIRERS  389 

She  fully  answers  to  the  beautiful  characterization  which 
Adam,  in  Paradise  Lost,  gives  of  his  beloved  Eve: 

"So  absolute  she  seems, 
And  in  herself  complete,  so  well  to  know 
Her  own,  that  what  she  wills  to  do  or  say 
Seems  wisest,  virtuosest,  discreetest,  best. 


Authority   and  reason  on  her  wait, 

*         *         *         »      *  *        *         * 

*     *     *    and,   to   consummate   all, 
Greatness   of   mind   and   nobleness   their   seat 
Build  in   her  loveliest,   and   create  an  awe 
About  her,  as  a  guard  angelic  plac'd." 


CHAPTER   XII 

THE    FUTURE    OF   WOMEN   IN   SCIENCE: 
SUMMARY   AND   EPILOGUE 

Saint-Evremond,  the  first  great  master  of  the  genteel 
style  in  French  literature,  who  was  equally  noted  as  aj 
brilliant  courtier,  a  graceful  wit,  a  professed  Epicurean, 
and  who  exerted  so  marked  an  influence  on  the  writings 
of  Voltaire  and  the  essayists  of  Queen  Anne 's  time,  gives  us 
in  one  of  his  desultory  productions  an  entertaining  dis- 
quisition on  La  femme  qui  ne  se  trouve  point  et  ne  se 
trouvera  jamais — the  woman  who  is  not  and  never  will  be 
found.  The  caption  of  this  singular  essay  admirably  ex- 
presses the  idea  that  the  majority  of  mankind  has,  even 
until  the  present  day,  held  respecting  woman  in  science. 
For  them  she  was  non-existent.  Nature,  in  their  view,  had 
disqualified  her  for  serious  and,  above  all,  for  abstract 
science.  Never,  therefore,  in  the  opinion  of  these  solemn 
wiseacres,  had  been  found  or  could  be  found  a  woman  who 
had  achieved  distinction  in  science. 

The  foregoing  chapters  show  how  ill-founded  is  such  a 
view  regarding  woman  in  times  past.  For  that  half  of 
humanity  which  has  produced  such  scientific  luminaries  as 
Aspasia,  Laura  Bassi,  Maria  Gaetana  Agnesi,  Sophie  Ger- 
main, Mary  Somerville,  Caroline  Herschel,  Sonya  Kova- 
levsky,  Agnes  S.  Lewis,  Margaret  Dunlop  Gibson,  Eleanor 
Ormerod  and  Mme.  Curie — to  mention  no  others — is  far 
from  exhibiting  any  evidence  of  intellectual  disqualifica- 
tion and  still  farther  from  warranting  any  one  from  de- 


FUTURE    OP   WOMEN    IN    SCIENCE      391 

jlaring  that  the  successful  pursuit  of  science  is  entirely 

>eyond  the  mental  powers  of  womankind. 
The  preceding  pages,  likewise,  afford  an  answer  to  those 
[who  insist  on  woman's  incapacity  for  scientific  pursuits, 
[and  point  to  the  small  number  of  those  that  have  attained 
| eminence  in  any  of  the  branches  of  science;  who  continue 
I  to  assert  that  the  women  named  are  but  exceptions  to  the 
rule  of  the  hopeless  inferiority  of  their  sex,  and  that  no 
conclusions  can  be  deduced  from  the  paucity  of  women 
who  have  risen  above  the  intellectual  level  of  their  less 
fortunate  or  less  highly  dowered  sisters.  They  further 
show  that,  until  the  last  few  decades,  woman 's  environment 
was  rarely  if  ever  favorable  to  her  pursuit  of  science. 
From  the  days  of  Aspasia  until  the  latter  half  of  the  nine- 
teenth century  she  was  discriminated  against  by  law,  cus- 
tom and  public  opinion.  Save  only  in  Italy,  she  was  ex- 
cluded from  the  universities  and  from  learned  societies  in 
which  she  might  have  had  an  opportunity  of  developing 
her  intellect.  In  other  countries  her  social  ostracism  in 
all  that  pertained  to  mental  development  was  so  complete 
and  universal  that  she  rarely  had  an  opportunity  of  mak- 
ing a  trial  of  her  powers  or  exhibiting  her  innate  capacity. 
The  consequence  was  that  her  mind  remained  in  a  con- 
dition of  comparative  atrophy — a  condition  that  gave  rise 
to  that  long  prevalent  belief  in  woman's  intellectual  in- 
feriority to  man  and  her  natural  incapacity  for  everything 
that  is  not  light  or  frivolous. 

Practically  all  that  women  have  achieved  in  science,  until 
very  recent  years,  has  been  accomplished  in  defiance  of 
that  conventional  code  which  compelled  them  to  confine 
their  activities  to  the  ordinary  duties  of  the  household. 
The  lives  and  achievements  of  the  eminent  mathematicians, 
Sophie  Germain  and  Mary  Somerville,  are  good  illustra- 
tions of  the  truth  of  this  assertion.  It  was  only  their  per- 
sistence in  the  study  of  their  favorite  branch  of  science,  in 
spite  of  the  opposition  of  their  family  and  friends,  and  in 


39£  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

spite  of  what  was  considered  taboo  for  their  sex  by  the 
usages  and  ordinances  of  society,  that  they  were  able  to 
attain  that  eminence  in  the  most  abstruse  of  the  sciences 
which  won  for  them  the  plaudits  of  the  world.  Both  were 
virtually  self-made  women.  Deprived  of  the  advantages 
of  a  college  or  university  education,  and  denied  the  stimu- 
lus afforded  by  membership  in  learned  scientific  associa- 
tions, they  nevertheless  succeeded  by  their  own  unaided 
efforts  in  winning  a  place  of  highest  honor  in  the  Walhalla 
of  men  of  science. 

M.  Alphonse  de  Candolle,  in  his  great  work,  Histoire  des 
Sciences  et  des  Savants  depuis  Deux  Siecles,  devotes  only 
two  pages  to  the  consideration  of  woman  in  science.  She 
is,  to  him,  a  negligible  quantity.  And,  although  a  pro- 
fessed man  of  science,  he  repeats,  without  any  scientific 
warrant  whatever,  all  the  gratuitous  statements  of  his  pre- 
decessors regarding  the  superficial  character  of  the  female 
mind,  "a  mind,"  he  will  have  it,  which  " takes  pleasure 
in  ideas  that  are  readily  seized  by  a  kind  of  intuition ;"  a 
mind  "to  which  the  slow  methods  of  observation  and  cal- 
culation by  which  truth  is  surely  arrived  at  are  not  pleas- 
ing. Truths  themselves/ *  the  Swiss  savant  continues,  "in- 
dependent of  their  nature  and  possible  consequences — 
especially  general  truths  which  have  no  relation  to  a  par- 
ticular person — are  of  small  moment  to  most  women.  Add 
to  this  a  feeble  independence  of  opinion,  a  reasoning  fac- 
ulty less  intense  than  in  man,  and,  finally,  the  horror  of 
doubt,  that  is,  a  state  of  mind  in  which  all  research  in  the 
sciences  of  observation  must  begin  and  often  end.  These 
reasons  are,"  according  to  de  Candolle,  "more  than  suffi- 
cient to  explain  the  position  of  women  in  scientific  pur- 
suits."1 

They  certainly  are  more  than  sufficient  to  explain  their 
position  if  we  choose  to  accept  the  author's  method  of  de- 
termining one's  attainments  in  the  realm  of  science.    His 

i  Histoire  des  Sciences  et  des  Savants,  p.  271,  Geneve-Bale,  1885. 


FUTURE    OF   WOMEN    IN    SCIENCE 

chief  test  of  one's  eminence  in  science  is  the  number  of 
learned  societies  to  which  one  belongs.  For  De  Candolle, 
membership  in  one  or  more  such  bodies  is  prima  facie  evi- 
dence of  special  distinction  in  some  branch  of  science.  But 
"We,"  he  declares,  "do  not  see  the  name  of  any  woman 
on  the  lists  of  learned  men  connected  with  the  principal 
academies.  This  is  not  due  entirely  to  the  fact  that  the 
customs  and  regulations  have  made  no  provision  for 
their  admission,  for  it  is  easy  to  assure  one's  self  that  no 
person  of  the  feminine  sex  has  ever  produced  an  original 
scientific  work  which  has  made  its  mark  in  any  science 
and  commanded  the  attention  of  specialists  in  science.  I 
do  not  think  it  has  ever  been  considered  desirable  to  elect 
a  woman  a  member  of  any  of  the  great  scientific  academies 
with  restricted  membership."1 

When  De  Candolle  insisted  on  membership  in  learned 
societies  as  a  necessary  indication  of  scientific  eminence, 
he  must  have  known,  what  everybody  knew,  that  such 
exclusive  societies  as  the  French  Academy  of  Sciences  and 
the  Royal  Society  of  Great  Britain  have  always  been  dead 
set  against  the  admission  of  women  members.  It  is  diffi- 
cult to  imagine  that  the  learned  author  of  the  History  of 
Science  and  Scientists  was  entirely  ignorant  of  the  exclu- 
sion from  the  French  Academy  of  Maria  Gaetana  Agnesi 
solely  because  she  was  a  woman.  And  he  must  have  been 
aware  that,  had  it  not  been  for  her  sex,  Sophie  Germain 
would  have  been  accorded  a  fauteuil  in  the  same  society 
for  her  remarkable  investigations  in  one  of  the  difficult 
departments  of  mathematical  physics.  He  must  likewise 
have  been  cognizant  of  the  attitude  of  such  organizations 
as  the  Royal  Society  toward  women,  no  matter  how  meri- 
torious their  achievements  in  science. 

According  to  De  Candolle 's  criterion,  such  women  as 
Mme.  Curie,  Sonya  Kovalevsky,  Eleanor  Ormerod,  Agnes 
S.  Lewis,  Margaret  Dunlop  Gibson  have  accomplished  noth- 
i  Ibid.,  p.  270. 


394.  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

ing  worthy  of  note  because,  forsooth,  their  names  are  not 
found  on  the  rolls  of  membership  of  the  Royal  Society  or 
the  French  Academy  of  Sciences — associations  whose  con- 
stitutions have  been  purposely  so  framed  as  to  exclude 
women  from  membership.  It  would,  indeed,  be  difficult  to 
instance  a  more  unfair  or  a  more  unscientific  test  of 
woman's  eminence  in  science,  and  that,  too,  proposed  by 
one  who  is  supposed  to  be  actuated  in  his  judgments  by 
rigorously  scientific  methods.  Had  any  of  the  women 
named  belonged  to  the  male  sex,  there  never  would  have 
been  any  question  of  their  fitness  to  become  members  of 
the  societies  in  question.  This  is  particularly  true  of  Mme. 
Curie,  who,  in  the  estimation  of  the  world,  has  done  more 
to  enhance  the  prestige  of  French  science  than  any  man 
of  the  present  generation — a  statement  that  is  sufficiently 
justified  by  the  fact  that  she  is  the  only  one  so  far  who  has 
twice,  in  competition  with  the  greatest  of  the  world's  men 
of  science,  succeeded  in  carrying  away  the  great  Nobel 
prize.1 

i  A  writer  in  the  English  magazine,  Nature,  under  date  of  Janu- 
ary 12,  1911,  when  the  European  press  was  discussing  Mme.  Curie's 
claims  to  membership  in  the  French  Academy  of  Sciences,  makes  the 
following  sane  observations  on  the  admission  of  women  to  the  various 
academies  of  the  French  Institute: 

11  There  may  be  room  for  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  wisdom 
or  expediency  of  permitting  women  to  embark  on  the  troubled  sea 
of  politics,  or  of  allowing  them  a  determinate  voice  in  the  settle- 
ment of  questions  which  may  affect  the  existence  or  the  destiny  of 
a  nation;  but  surely  there  ought  to  be  no  question  that  in  the  peace- 
ful walks  of  art,  literature  and  science,  there  should  be  the  freest 
possible  scope  extended  to  them,  and  that,  as  human  beings,  every 
avenue  to  distinction  and  success  should  unreservedly  be  open  to  them. 

"All  academies  tend  to  be  conservative  and  to  move  slowly; 
they  are  the  homes  of  privilege  and  of  vested  interest.  Some  of  them 
incline  to  be  reactionary.  They  were  created  by  men  for  men  and 
for  the  most  part  at  a  time  when  women  played  little  or  no  part 
in  those  occupations  which  such  societies  were  intended  to  foster  and 
develop.  But  the  times  have  changed.  Women  have  gradually  won 
for  themselves  their  rightful  position  as  human  beings.     We  have 


FUTURE    OF    WOMEN    IN    SCIENCE      395 

Not  only  have  men,  from  time  immemorial,  been  wont  to 
point  to  woman's  incapacity  for  science  as  evidenced  by 
the  small  number  of  those  who  have  achieved  distinction 
in  any  of  its  branches,  but  they  have  also  taken  a  special 
pleasure  in  directing  attention  to  the  fact  that  no  woman 
has  ever  given  to  the  world  any  of  the  great  creations  of 
genius,  or  been  the  prime-mover  in  any  of  the  far-reaching 
discoveries  which  have  so  greatly  contributed  to  the  weal, 
the  advancement  and  the  happiness  of  our  race. 

No  one,  probably,  has  expressed  himself  on  this  subject  in 
a  more  positive  or  characteristic  fashion  than  the  noted 
litterateur  and  philosopher,  Count  Joseph  de  Maistre. 
Writing  from  St.  Petersburg  to  his  daughter,  Constance, 
he  says:  "Voltaire,  according  to  what  you  affirm — for  as 
to  me,  I  know  nothing,  as  I  have  not  read  all  his  works, 
and  have  not  read  a  line  of  them  during  the  last  thirty 
years — says  that  women  are  capable  of  doing  all  that  men 
do,  etc.  This  is  merely  a  compliment  paid  to  some  pretty 
woman,  or,  rather,  it  is  one  of  the  hundred  thousand  and 
now  to  recognize  that  academies  as  seats  of  learning  were  made  for 
humanity  and  that,  as  members  of  the  human  race,  women  have  the 
right  to  look  upon  their  heritage  and  property  no  less  than  men. 
This  consummation  may  not  at  once  be  reached,  but,  as  it  is  based 
upon  reason  and  justice,  it  is  certain  to  be  attained  eventually. ' ' 

A  fortnight  later  the  same  magazine  contained  a  second  article, 
in  which  the  matter  is  treated  in  an  equally  manly  fashion. 

"As  scientific  work,"  the  writer  pertinently  observes,  "must 
ultimately  be  judged  by  its  merits,  and  not  by  the  nationality  or  sex 
of  its  author,  we  believe  that  the  opposition  to  the  election  of  women 
into  scientific  societies  will  soon  be  seen  to  be  unjust  and  detri- 
mental to  the  progress  of  natural  knowledge.  By  no  pedantic  reason- 
ing can  the  rejection  of  a  candidate  for  membership  of  a  scientific 
society  be  justified,  if  the  work  done  places  the  candidate  in  the 
leading  position  among  other  competitors.  Science  knows  no  nation- 
ality and  should  recognize  no  distinction  of  sex,  color  or  creed  among 
those  who  are  contributing  to  its  advancement.  Believing  that  this 
is  the  conclusion  to  which  consideration  of  the  question  must  inevita- 
bly lead,  we  have  confidence  that  the  doors  of  all  scientific  societies 
will  eventually  be  open  to  women  on  equal  terms  with  men." 


396  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

thousand  silly  things  which  he  said  during  his  lifetime. 
The  very  contrary  is  the  truth.  Women  have  produced  no 
chef  d'ceuvre  of  any  kind  whatsoever.  They  have  been  the 
authors  neither  of  the  Iliad,  nor  the  JEneid,  nor  the 
Jerusalem  Delivered,  nor  Phedre,  nor  Athalie  nor  Rodo- 
gune,  nor  The  Misanthrope,  nor  Tartufe,  nor  The  Joueur, 
nor  The  Pantheon,  nor  The  Church  of  St.  Peterfs,  nor  the 
Venus  de'  Medici,  nor  the  Apollo  Belvidere,  nor  the  Prin- 
cipia,  nor  the  Discourse  on  Universal  History,  nor  Tele- 
machus.  They  have  invented  neither  algebra  nor  the  tele- 
scope, nor  achromatic  glasses  nor  the  fire  engine,  nor  hose- 
machines,  etc. ' ' 1 

All  this  is  true,  but  what  does  it  prove?  It  does  not 
prove,  as  is  so  frequently  assumed,  woman's  lesser  brain 

i  Lettres  et  Opuscules  Inedits  du  Comte  Joseph  de  Maistre,  Tom. 
I,  p.  194,  Paris,  1851. 

It  was  this  same  brusque  and  original  writer  who  asserted  that 
11  science  was  a  most  dangerous  thing  for  women;  that  no  woman 
should  study  science  under  penalty  of  becoming  ridiculous  and  un- 
happy; that  a  coquette  can  more  readily  get  married  than  a  sa- 
vante."  And  he  it  was  who  declared  that  women  who  attempted 
to  emulate  men  in  the  pursuit  of  science  are  monkeys  and  donne 
barbute — bearded  women — and  who  designated  Mme.  de  Stael  as 
"la  science  en  jupons,  une  impertinente  femelette" — science  in  petti- 
coats, a  silly,  impertinent  female. 

He,  however,  met  an  opponent  worthy  of  his  steel  in  the  person 
of  the  eloquent  bishop  of  Orleans,  Mgr.  Dupanloup.  In  a  lengthy 
and  brilliant  critique  of  De  Maistre 's  views  he  shows  them  to  be 
untenable,  if  not  ridiculous.  "I  by  no  means/ '  he  writes,  il agree 
with  M.  de  Maistre  that  *  la  science  en  jupons, '  as  he  calls  it,  or  tal- 
ents of  any  kind  whatsoever,  militates  in  the  slightest  against  a 
woman  being  a  good  wife  or  a  good  mother.  Quite  the  contrary." 
And  considering  woman  as  the  companion  and  aid  of  man — socia  et 
adjutorium — he  expresses  a  view  which  is  quite  the  opposite  of  that 
championed  by  his  distinguished  adversary  for,  in  words  precise  and 
pregnant,  he  asserts  that  the  education  of  women  cannot  be  too  con- 
sistent, too  serious,  and  too  solid — ''L' education  des  femmes  ne 
saurait  etre  trop  suivie,  trop  serieuse  et  trop  forte."  La  Femme 
Studieuse,  p.  160,  Paris,  1895. 


FUTURE    OF    WOMEN    IN    SCIENCE      397 

power  or  inferior  intelligence.  It  does  not  prove — as  the 
learned  Frenchman  and  those  who  are  similarly  minded 
would  have  us  believe — her  incapacity  for  the  highest 
nights  of  genius  in  every  sphere  of  intellectual  effort.  Such 
assumptions  are  entirely  negatived  by  woman's  past 
achievements  in  all  departments  of  art,  literature  and 
science. 

Far  from  making  the  inference  that  De  Maistre  wished 
his  daughter  to  draw  from  his  letter,  we  should,  from 
what  we  know  of  woman's  ability  as  disclosed  in  the  fore- 
going chapters,  hesitate  to  set  a  limit  to  her  powers,  or 
to  declare  apodictically  that  she  could  not  have  been  the 
author  of  works  of  as  great  merit  as  most  of  those — if  not 
all  of  them — mentioned  as  among  men's  supreme  achieve- 
ments. The  simple  fact  that  Mme.  Curie  and  Sonya  Kova- 
levsky  were  able,  in  sciences  usually  considered  beyond 
female  intelligence,  to  wrest  from  their  male  competitors 
the  most  coveted  prizes  within  the  gift  of  the  Nobel 
Prize  Commission  and  the  French  Academy  of  Sciences, 
demonstrates  completely  that  woman's  assumed  incapacity 
for  even  the  most  recondite  scientific  pursuits  is  a  mere 
figment  of  the  masculine  imagination. 

What  women  have  done  "that  at  least,  if  nothing  else," 
as  John  Stuart  Mill  aptly  observes,  "it  is  proved  they  can 
do.  When  we  consider  how  sedulously  they  are  all  trained 
away  from,  instead  of  being  trained  toward,  any  of  the 
occupations  or  objects  reserved  for  men,  it  is  evident  that 
I  am  taking  very  humble  ground  for  them,  when  I  rest 
their  case  on  what  they  have  actually  achieved.  For,  in 
this  case,  negative  evidence  is  worth  little,  while  any  posi- 
tive evidence  is  conclusive.  It  cannot  be  inferred  to  be 
impossible  that  a  woman  should  be  a  Homer,  or  an  Aris- 
totle, or  a  Michaelangelo,  or  a  Beethoven,  because  no 
woman  has  yet  actually  produced  works  comparable  to 
theirs  in  any  of  those  lines  of  excellence.  This  negative  fact 
at  most  leaves  the  question  uncertain  and  open  to  psycho- 


S98  WOMAN   IN    SCIENCE 

logical  discussion.  But  it  is  quite  certain  that  a  woman 
can  be  a  Queen  Elizabeth  or  a  Deborah  or  a  Joan  of  Arc, 
since  this  is  not  inference  but  a  fact." 1 

In  like  manner  it  is  quite  certain  that,  in  spite  of  all 
kinds  of  disabilities  and  prejudices  and  adverse  legisla- 
tion, there  have  been  a  large  number  of  women  who,  in 
every  department  of  intellectual  activity,  have  achieved 
marked  distinction  and  won  imperishable  renown  for  their 
proscribed  sex.  It  is  a  fact,  which  admits  of  no  question, 
that,  notwithstanding  their  being  debarred  from  all  the 
educational  advantages  so  generously  lavished  upon  the 
dominant  sex,  women  have  since  the  days  of  Sappho  and 
Hypatia  shown  themselves  the  equals  and  often  the  su- 
periors of  men  in  the  highest  and  noblest  spheres  of  mental 
achievement. 

Such  being  the  case,  what,  we  may  ask,  would  have  been 
the  result  had  women,  from  that  splendid  Heroic  Period 
of  which  Homer  sings  until  the  present,  enjoyed  all  the 
opportunities  of  mental  development  of  which  men  have 
systematically  claimed  the  exclusive  privilege  ? 2  What 
would  now  be  their  condition  if,  from  the  days  of  the 
Muses — who  were  but  learned  women  apotheosized — 
women  had  never  been  deprived  of  their  intellectual  birth- 
right and  had  been  permitted  to  continue  in  the  path  so 
auspiciously  blazed  by  Corinna — the  victor  over  Pindar — 
and  Arete,  the  splendor  of  Greece  and  the  possessor  of  the 
mind  of  Socrates  and  the  tongue  of  Homer  ?    What  would 

i  The  Subjection  of  Women,  p.  81,  London,  1909. 

2  The  late  Mr.  Gladstone  asserts  that  ' '  It  would  be  hard  to  dis- 
cover any  period  of  history  or  country  of  the  world,  not  being  Chris- 
tian, in  which  they" — women — "stood  so  high  as  with  the  Greeks 
of  the  Heroic  Age" — when  the  position  of  the  Greek  woman  was  so 
remarkable  and  "so  elevated,  both  absolutely  and  in  comparison  with 
what  it  became  in  the  Historic  Ages  of  Greece  and  Eome  amidst 
their  elaborate  civilization."  Studies  on  Homer  and  the  Homeric 
Age,  Vol.  II,  p.  479  et  seq.,  Oxford,  1858.  Cf.  also  the  same  au- 
thor's Juventus  Mundi,  p.  405  et  seq.,  London,  1869. 


FUTURE    OF   WOMEN    IN    SCIENCE      399 

not  now  be  their  intellectual  efflorescence,  if  Plato's  dream 
of  twenty-three  centuries  ago  of  giving  women  equal  rights 
with  men  in  all  things  of  the  mind  could  have  been  realized ; 
if  those  ardent  female  disciples  of  his,  who  so  lovingly 
followed  him  through  the  streets  of  Athens — ''the  home 
of  the  intellectual  and  the  beautiful" — and  hung  on  his 
lips  during  his  matchless  discourses  in  the  groves  of  the 
Academy  and  on  the  banks  of  the  Ilyssus,  could  have  con- 
tinued that  race  of  intellect  and  genius  which  was  the  ad- 
miration and  the  inspiration  of  all  Hellas  during  the  most 
brilliant  period  of  its  marvelous  history? 

Speculating  only  on  what  the  gifted  daughters  of  Greece 
might  have  achieved,  we  may  easily  believe  that  they 
would  have  kept  pace  with  their  most  highly  gifted  coun- 
trymen, and  that,  following  in  the  footsteps  of  Sappho 
and  the  other  Muses  of  the  ' '  Terrestrial  Nine, ' '  they  would 
have  been  worthy  rivals  of  Homer,  Pindar  and  JEschylus, 
and  would  have  occupied  a  prominent  place  in  that  bril- 
liant galaxy  of  genius  composed  of  such  luminaries  as 
Anaxagoras,  Sophocles,  Euclid,  Archimedes,  Theophrastus, 
Polygnotus,  Diophantus,  Pausanias  and  Thucydides. 

To  those  who  base  their  opinions  on  what  so  long  has 
been  the  absurdly  anomalous  condition  of  women  and  who, 
in  formulating  their  theories  of  human  progress,  com- 
pletely ignore  the  fundamental  laws  of  heredity,  such  con- 
jectures will  seem  extravagant,  if  not  chimerical.  But, 
when  one  bears  in  mind  the  universal  fact  that  offspring, 
whatever  the  sex,  inherits  its  characteristics  and  its  powers 
from  both  parents  alike;  that  the  soul,  unlike  the  body, 
has  no  sex,  and  that,  so  far  as  legitimate  indications  from 
the  teachings  of  biology  and  psychology  can  serve  as  a 
guide,  there  is  no  valid  reason  for  asserting  the  mental 
superiority  of  man  over  woman,  one  will  be  obliged  to 
confess  that  these  surmises  are  far  from  being  either  fanci- 
ful or  preposterous. 

It  is  then  the  veriest  sophism  to  predicate  woman's 


400  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

incapacity  for  science  and  for  intellectual  achievements 
of  the  highest  order  on  what  she  has  not  accomplished  in 
the  past,  or  on  the  comparatively  limited  number  of  her 
contributions  to  the  advancement  of  knowledge ;  for  up  till 
the  present  she  has,  for  the  most  part,  been  but  a  dwarf 
of  the  gynaeceum, 

"CrampM  under  worse  than  South-sea  isle  taboo." 

Had  men  been  compelled  to  labor  under  similar  condi- 
tions, it  is  doubtful  if  they  would  have  accomplished  any 
more  than  women  have  now  to  their  credit. 

Considering  woman's  past  achievements  in  science,  as 
well  as  in  other  departments  of  knowledge ;  considering  her 
present  opportunities  for  developing  her  long-hampered 
faculties,  and  considering,  especially,  the  many  new  social 
and  economic  adjustments  which  have  been  made  within 
the  last  half  century,  in  consequence  of  the  greatly  changed 
conditions  of  modern  life,  it  requires  no  prophetic  visiou 
to  forecast  what  share  the  gentler  sex  will  have  in  the 
future  advancement  of  science.  That  it  will  be  far  greater 
than  it  has  been  hitherto  there  can  be  no  reasonable  doubt. 
That  the  number  of  savantes  of  the  type  of  Maria  Gaetana 
Agnesi,  Sonya  Kovalevsky  and  Mme.  Curie  will  be  greatly 
enlarged  there  is  every  reason  to  believe.  That  among 
these  coming  votaries  of  science  there  will  be  more  than 
one  woman  who,  even  in  the  most  abstruse  sciences,  will 
stand 

"Upon  an  even  pedestal  with  man," 

seems  to  be  assured  by  the  achievements  of  many  who  are 
now  so  materially  adding  to  the  sum  of  human  knowledge. 
Is  it  probable  that  the  future  will  bring  forth  women 
whose  achievements  in  science  will  rank  with  those  of 
Euler,  Faraday,  Liebig,  Leverrier,  Champollion  and  Geof- 
fry  Saint-Hillaire  ?  It  would  be  a  rash  man  who  would 
answer  in  the  negative.    We  cannot,  as  De  Maistre  seems 


FUTURE    OF   WOMEN    IN    SCIENCE      401 

to  do,  reason  from  what  they  have  not  done — when  every- 
thing was  against  them — to  what  they  may  do  when  con- 
ditions shall,  in  every  way,  be  as  favorable  to  them  as 
they  always  have  been  to  the  dominant  sex. 

Still  rasher  would  be  the  man  who  would  attempt  to 
prove  the  negative  of  this  question.  Mere  a  priori  argu- 
ments, based  on  preconceived  bias  or  on  the  vague  and 
groundless  impression  that  woman  is  essentially  and  hope- 
lessly the  intellectual  inferior  of  man,  have  no  more  value 
than  gratuitous  opinions.  The  unprejudiced  seeker  after 
truth  will  insist  on  a  demonstration  based  on  incontro- 
vertible facts.  He  will  appeal  to  history  to  learn  what  the 
sex  has  already  accomplished,  and  to  science  to  inquire  if 
there  be  anything  in  the  female  brain  to  differentiate  it 
from  that  of  the  male,  or  to  preclude  woman  from  attain- 
ing the  highest  rank  in  the  activities  of  the  intellect. 

The  result  of  such  an  investigation  will,  I  think,  cause 
even  the  most  biased  person  to  suspend  judgment,  if  it 
does  not  induce  him  to  align  himself  with  those  who,  find- 
ing no  differences  in  the  mental  endowments  of  the  sexes, 
have  reached  the  conclusion  that  the  day  will  come,  and, 
mayhap,  in  the  near  future,  when  the  achievements  of 
women  will  be  on  a  par  with  those  of  man.  The  facts 
stated  in  the  preceding  chapters  seem,  not  unreasonably, 
to  point  to  such  a  conclusion,  if,  indeed,  they  do  not  war- 
rant it  as  a  necessary  inference. 

A  few  considerations  germane  to  this  discussion  will 
illustrate  the  danger  of  forming  hasty  judgments  regard- 
ing questions  like  the  one  under  discussion. 

During  the  last  hundred  years  no  country  in  the  world 
has  done  more  for  the  education  of  the  masses  than  the 
United  States.  Everything  that  money  could  purchase  and 
ingenuity  suggest  has  been  adopted  to  develop  the  minds 
and  stimulate  the  latent  talents  and  genius  of  our  youth. 
From  the  primary  schools  to  the  highest  and  best  equipped 
universities,  a  special  premium  has  been  put  on  success  in 


402  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

study,  and  the  highest  rewards  have  awaited  those  who 
should  make  any  notable  contribution  towards  the  ad- 
vancement of  knowledge.  But,  notwithstanding  all  the 
educational  advantages  our  people  have  enjoyed  and  all 
the  encouragement  they  have  received  to  achieve  some- 
thing of  supreme  excellence,  our  great  country  with  its 
teeming  millions  attracted  from  the  most  gifted  nations  of 
the  Old  World  has  not  yet  produced  a  single  man  who 
has  attained  the  highest  rank  in  either  literature  or  art  or 
science.  Far  from  having  a  preeminent  master  of  song 
like  Homer  or  Dante,  we  have  not  even  a  poet  approaching 
Goethe  or  Tasso  or  Camoens.  We  have  no  Cervantes,  no 
Milton,  no  Racine,  no  Moliere.  America  has  produced  no 
Eaphael  or  Michaelangelo ;  no  Mozart  or  Wagner  or 
Tschaikovsky.  Nor  has  it  given  us  a  Descartes,  a  Leibnitz, 
a  Newton  or  a  Darwin.  Would  any  one,  from  this  com- 
plete absence  in  America  of  representatives  of  the  highest 
order  in  literature,  art  and  science,  ever  dream  of  con- 
cluding that  we  shall  never  have  such  favorite  sons  of 
genius  and  such  giants  of  intellect?  Does  our  compara- 
tive intellectual  sterility  in  the  past,  and  in  a  country 
which  seemed  specially  adapted  to  foster  genius  and  attain- 
ments of  the  highest  order,  justify  any  one  in  inferring  that 
the  days  of  great  geniuses,  like  the  days  of  demigods, 
are  gone  never  to  return  ? 

And  yet  the  number  of  men  in  our  broad  common- 
wealth who,  during  the  past  hundred  years,  have  enjoyed 
such  signal  opportunities  for  attaining  distinction  in  every 
domain  of  intellectual  effort  is  incomparably  greater  than 
that  of  all  the  women  so  favored  since  the  earliest  days  of 
human  history.  If,  from  the  first  flowering  of  Greek 
culture  to  the  present  day,  as  many  millions  of  women 
had  enjoyed  all  the  transcendent  advantages  of  education 
as  have  been  in  the  United  States  so  lavishly  accorded  to 
the  same  number  of  millions  of  men,  who  will  say  that 
very  many  of  them  would  not  have  attained  a  much  higher 


FUTURE    OF    WOMEN    IN    SCIENCE      40S 

rank  in  science,  as  well  as  in  art  and  literature,  than  has 
yet  been  reached  by  any  man  that  America  has  yet  pro- 
duced? Who  even,  on  the  evidence  now  available,  would 
be  warranted  in  denying  that  at  least  some  of  these  mil- 
lions of  women  might  have  attained  the  very  highest  rank 
in  every  department  of  intellectual  achievement? 

Gray,  in  his  Elegy  Written  in  a  Country  Churchyard, 
muses  on  the  potential  statesmen  and  the  "mute,  inglori- 
ous Miltons"  of  those  countless  multitudes  who,  for  lack 
of  opportunity  to  develop  their  inborn  gifts,  were  con- 
demned to  pass  their  lives  in  obscurity  and  die,  "to  For- 
tune and  to  Fame  unknown. ' '  But  how  much  more  truth- 
fully could  his  words  have  been  applied  to  that  much 
larger  number  of  women  of  rare  mental  powers  to  whose 
eyes  knowledge 

"Her  ample  page 
Rich  with  the  spoils  of  time  did  ne'er  unroll," 

and  whose  God-given  genius  was  ruthlessly  suppressed 
from  the  cradle  to  the  grave? 

We  are  still  in  ignorance  as  to  many  of  the  conditions 
which  are  essential  to  the  development  of  genius  and 
which  contribute  to  its  loftiest  flights.  We  have  yet  to 
learn  how  far  the  efflorescence  of  the  human  mind  is  aided 
and  modified  by  heredity,  environment,  atmosphere,  as 
well  as  by  education,  encouragement  and  other  stimuli 
equally  potent. 

But  we  do  know  that  Germany,  in  spite  of  its  famed 
universities  and  its  feverish  intellectual  activity  in  many 
departments  of  knowledge,  had  to  wait  many  long 'dreary 
centuries  before  it  could  point  to  a  Goethe,  a  Schiller,  a 
Humboldt,  a  Bach,  or  a  Beethoven.  We  know  that  France 
• — so  long  the  reputed  center  of  culture — has  so  far  pro- 
duced no  great  epic  poet,  no  Cervantes,  no  Murillo.  But 
shall  we  affirm  that  she  will  never  give  to  the  world  im- 
perishable works  like  Paradise  Lost,  Don  Quixote  or  the 


404.  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

Immaculate  Conception?  We  know  that  Athens,  which 
during  the  most  brilliant  period  of  its  history  counted  only 
fifty-four  hundred  free-born  citizens — less  than  the  popula- 
tion of  a  small  modern  town — was  able  to  produce  within 
a  very  brief  epoch  more  men  of  supreme  distinction  than 
all  the  rest  of  Europe  from  the  Age  of  Pericles  until  the 
dawn  of  the  Renaissance.  Hers  is  still  the  art  of  the  world, 
the  literature  of  the  world,  the  philosophy  of  the  world, 
the  culture  of  the  world.  For  twenty-five  centuries  her 
canons  of  taste  and  beauty  have  guided  poets,  orators, 
artists;  and  her  matchless  productions  have  been  the  in- 
spiration, as  they  have  been  the  despair,  of  the  greatest 
geniuses  of  our  modern  world. 

Had  the  women  of  Greece  not  been  put  under  constraint 
just  as  they  were  beginning  to  exhibit  the  splendid  results 
of  their  intellectual  activities ;  had  they  been  encouraged  to 
develop  to  the  utmost  their  richly-dowered  minds,  as  were 
the  men,  a  far  larger  number  of  them,  no  doubt,  would 
have  been  as  successful  in  carrying  off  coveted  prizes  in 
the  intellectual  arena  as  was  Corinna  in  her  contests  with 
Pindar.  •  And  they  would,  likewise,  as  we  may  easily  con- 
ceive, have  greatly  added  to  the  number  of  masterpieces 
of  Greek  intellect  in  science  as  well  as  in  art  and  letters. 

But  the  opportunity  for  women  to  test  their  powers, 
which  was  so  wantonly  snatched  from  their  sisters  in  the 
Hellenic  world,  seems  again  to  be  offered  to  their  sex.  This 
opportunity,  as  has  been  stated,  is  due  chiefly  to  their 
persistence  in  claiming  the  same  right  as  men  to  intel- 
lectual development  as  well  as  to  the  countless  proofs 
they  have  given  that  their  demands  are  founded  on  reason 
and  justice.  What  shall  be  the  outcome  of  the  new  oppor- 
tunity for  woman  to  prove  her  capacity  as  compared  with 
man's  in  things  of  the  intellect  remains  to  be  seen,  but, 
from  indications  she  has  during  recent  years  given  of  her 
powers  in  every  branch  of  scientific  inquiry,  there  can  be 
little  doubt  that  it  will  be  of  such  character  as  to  place 


FUTURE    OF    WOMEN    IN    SCIENCE      405 

woman  on  a  higher  intellectual  plane  than  she  has  yet 
occupied.  In  physical  strength  and  in  the  rougher  con- 
flicts with  the  world  she  will  doubtless  always  remain  "the 
lesser  man,"  but,  once  she  feels  in  full  possession  of 
liberty 

"To  burgeon  out  of  all 
Within  her," 

she  will  duly  justify  her  advocates  who  throughout  the 
centuries  have  been 

"Maintaining   that  with  equal  husbandry 
The  woman  were  an  equal  to  the  man." 

Not  the  least  of  the  contributing  factors  to  woman's  in- 
tellectual growth,  and  especially  to  her  future  achieve- 
ments in  science,  are  the  recent  adjustments  for  women  in 
social  and  economical  conditions  brought  about  chiefly  by 
far-reaching  changes  in  the  industrial  world.  Even  so  late 
as  the  last  half  of  the  nineteenth  century  the  energies  of 
women,  when  they  were  not  engaged  in  the  kitchen  or  the 
nursery,  were  spent  on  the  domestic  loom,  spinning  wheel 
and  the  knitting  needle.  All  the  various  plUcesses  from 
carding  the  wool  to  making  it  into  clothing  for  all  the 
members  of  the  family  were  in  the  hands  of  the  house- 
wife. Ready-made  clothing  was  far  from  being  as  common 
and  inexpensive  as  it  is  now.  Canned  foods  and  cereals, 
which  do  away  with  so  much  of  the  drudgery  of  the 
kitchen,  were  unknown.  Electricity,  which  has  proved  to 
be  such  a  remarkable  aid  in  every  modern  home,  was 
little  more  than  a  mysterious  force  that  was  utilized  in 
the  electric  telegraph.  Most  of  the  domestic  labor-saving 
machines  were  still  in  their  infancy  and  possessed  by  but 
few  people.  Large  fortunes  were  confined  to  only  a  fa- 
vored few  in  our  great  metropolises.  The  mass  of  the 
people  was  preoccupied  with  the  struggle  for  existence. 

But  science,  the  spirit  of  invention  and  the  advent  of  the 


406  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

age  of  machinery  have  completely  changed  the  conditions 
of  life  which  obtained  but  a  generation  ago.  They  have 
not  only  opened  up  for  women  countless  occupations  that 
were  undreamed  of  in  their  mother's  time,  but  have  also 
given  to  tens  of  thousands  of  them  the  necessary  means  and 
leisure  to  indulge  their  tastes  for  study  and  research  and 
enabled  an  ever  increasing  number  of  them  to  realize  their 
aspirations  for  achieving  distinction  in  the  divers  depart- 
ments of  scientific  research. 

As  an  instance  of  this  marked  change  in  the  intellectual 
activity  of  women,  we  need  only  consider  what  an  impor- 
tant part  they  now  take  in  our  present  prodigious  literary 
output,  as  compared  with  their  share  in  similar  work  but 
a  few  decades  ago.  As  authors,  as  writers  and  readers  in 
the  editorial  rooms  of  our  leading  periodicals,  as  contrib- 
utors to  learned  journals  and  reviews  dealing  with  every 
branch  of  science,  even  the  most  abstruse,  they  now  occupy 
a  conspicuous  place  and  are  doing  work  that  is  quite  as 
creditable  as  that  of  men. 

And  it  is  no  longer  necessary,  in  deference  to  public 
sentiment,  for  them  to  write  under  a  pseudonym,  for  it  is 
no  longer  considered  unfeminine,  as  it  was  in  the  time  of 
the  Bronte  sisters,  for  women  to  acknowledge  themselves 
the  authors  of  books  or  of  articles  in  magazines.  If  they 
elect  to  devote  their  lives  to  literary  or  scientific  work, 
they  will  not  be  deterred  from  so  doing  by  what  Mrs. 
Grundy  may  say,  or  by  the  fear  that  some  feeble  imitator 
of  Moliere  may  dub  them  as  Precieuses  Ridicules.  The 
value  of  their  productions,  like  those  of  men,  is  gauged 
solely  by  merit  and  not  by  any  narrow-minded  considera- 
tions of  the  author's  sex. 

So  also  will  it  be  in  all  other  occupations  where  women 
choose  to  gain  their  livelihood  by  devoting  themselves  to 
scientific  pursuits  rather  than  to  manual  labor  or  to  sec- 
retarial work  in  the  counting-room.  There  are  positions 
open  for  them  in  colleges,  universities  and  the  government 


FUTURE    OF    WOMEN    IN    SCIENCE      407 

service  where,  as  professors  or  experts  in  every  branch 
of  science,  their  talents  have  full  liberty  of  action  and 
where  they  have  the  same  opportunity  of  achieving  dis- 
tinction in  their  chosen  life-work  as  have  their  male  col- 
leagues. 

In  Germany  there  are  to-day  a  million  more  women 
than  men.  It  is  the  same  in  England.  In  France  the 
number  of  women  who  are  widows  or  unmarried  or  di- 
vorcees or  mothers  with  full-grown  children  aggregates  no 
less  than  four  and  a  half  millions.  A  similar  condition 
obtains  in  other  parts  of  Europe.  A  large  percentage  of 
this  number  is  without  home  ties  and,  as  the  old  fields  of 
labor  are  no  longer  open  to  women,  they  are  forced  to 
find  new  ones.  They  naturally  demand  the  privilege  of 
exercising  their  talents  in  occupations  which  are  most 
congenial  to  them.  Many  have  no  inclination  for  any  of 
the  avocations  in  the  industrial  or  commercial  world,  but 
have  a  very  decided  inclination  as  well  as  talent  for  scien- 
tific pursuits.  Hence  the  ever-increasing  number  of  women 
who  seek  employment  in  chemical  and  biological  labora- 
tories, in  museums  and  astronomical  observatories,  as  well 
as  aspire  to  professorships  of  science  in  schools  and  col- 
leges. From  this  large  number  of  votaries  of  science  some 
are  sure  to  achieve  distinction  in  their  calling  and  to  con- 
tribute materially  to  the  advancement  of  knowledge.  In 
the  course  of  time  the  number  of  those,  like  Mme.  Curie, 
Mme.  Coudreau,  Mary  Kingsley,  Sonya  Kovalevsky,  Elea- 
nor Ormerod,  Caroline  Herschel,  Zelia  Nuttall,  Harriet 
Boyd  Hawes,  Donna  Eersilia  Bovatillo,  Sophie  Pereyas- 
lawewa — to  name  only  a  few — who  will  become  prominent 
as  chemists,  explorers,  naturalists,  mathematicians,  ento- 
mologists, astronomers,  archaeologists,  biologists  will  be 
vastly  increased,  for  women  will  find  a  greater  stimulus 
for  such  work  and  more  numerous  demands  for  their 
service  in  the  constantly  expanding  sphere  of  scientific 
research. 


408  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

Many  women  will,  doubtless,  become  specialists  in  some 
specific  branch  of  science,  particularly  if  they  have  a  gen- 
uine love  for  it,  or  be  fired  by  an  ambition  to  achieve 
fame  as  discoverers.  But  it  is  not  probable  that  they  will 
ever  specialize  to  the  same  extent  as  men  do.  For  men 
scientific  work  has  to  a  large  extent  become  a  metier,  and 
success,  as  in  industry,  depends  on  a  division  of  labor. 
Hence  it  is  that  their  field  of  investigation  is  daily  becom- 
ing more  and  more  circumscribed.  This  is  observable  in 
all  the  sciences,  but  especially  in  such  all-embracing  sci- 
ences as  chemistry,  biology,  and  archaeology.  A  man  now 
does  well  if  he  master  a  single  branch  of  any  of  these 
sciences,  and  is  hailed  as  exceptionally  fortunate  if  he 
succeed  in  making  some  notable  discovery  in  his  limited 
field  of  research.  So  great,  indeed,  has  been  the  activity 
of  scientific  men  in  every  department  of  science  during 
the  last  half  century,  and  so  thoroughly  have  they  explored 
the  most  hidden  recesses  of  nature,  that  it,  at  times,  seems 
as  if  there  were  but  little  left  to  discover.  A  prominent 
scientist  recently  well  expressed  the  difficulty  of  making 
any  striking  additions  to  our  knowledge  of  nature  by 
asserting  that  all  great  discoveries  would  hereafter  be  made 
in  the  sixth  place  of  decimals.  This  statement  is  well  illus- 
trated by  the  delicate  experiments  that  were  required  to 
isolate  such  rare  elements  as  radium,  polonium,  helium 
and  neon,  which  occur  only  in  infinitesimal  quantities. 

While  men  of  science  will  be  forced  to  continue  as  spe- 
cialists as  long  as  the  love  of  fame,  to  consider  no  other 
motives  of  research,  continues  to  be  a  potent  influence  in 
their  investigations,  it  is  probable  that  women  will  have 
less  love  for  the  long  and  tedious  processes  involved  in  the 
more  difficult  kinds  of  specialization.  They  will,  it  seems 
likely,  be  more  inclined  to  acquire  a  general  knowledge 
of  the  whole  circle  of  the  sciences — a  knowledge  that  will 
enable  them  to  take  a  comprehensive  survey  of  nature. 
And  it  will  be  fortunate  for  themselves,  as  well  as  for 


FUTURE    OF    WOMEN    IN    SCIENCE      409 

the  men  who  must  perforce  remain  specialists,  if  they  elect 
to  do  so.  For  nothing  gives  falser  views  of  nature  as  a 
whole,  nothing  more  unfits  the  mind  for  a  proper  appre- 
hension of  higher  and  more  important  truths,  nothing 
more  incapacitates  one  for  the  enjoyment  of  the  master- 
pieces of  literature  or  the  sweeter  amenities  of  life,  than 
the  narrow  occupation  of  a  specialist  who  sees  nothing 
in  the  universe  but  electrons,  microbes  and  protozoa. 

But  just  at  the  critical  moment,  when  men  of  science 
would  rather  discover  a  process  than  a  law,  when  they  are 
so  preoccupied  with  the  infinitely  little  that  they  lose  sight 
of  the  cosmos  as  a  whole ;  when  their  attention  is  so  riveted 
on  particular  phenomena  that  they  will  no  longer  have 
aptitude  for  rising  from  effects  to  causes ;  when  they  cease 
to  have  any  interest  in  general  ideas  and  stray  away  from 
the  guidance  of  the  true  philosophic  spirit;  when,  like 
Plato 's  cave  men,  they  have  so  long  groped  in  darkness 
that  their  powers  of  vision  are  impaired,  then  it  is  that 
woman,  "The  herald  of  a  brighter  race,,,  comes  to  the 
rescue  and  holds  up  to  their  astonished  gaze  the  picture  of 
an  ideal  world  whose  existence  they  had  almost  forgotten. 
For  women,  as  a  rule,  love  science  for  its  own  sake,  and, 
unlike  the  specialists  in  question,  they  are,  in  its  pursuit, 
rarely  actuated  by  any  selfish  or  mercenary  interests,  or 
by  the  hope  of  financial  reward.  Precise  and  never-ending 
observations  with  the  microscope  and  spectroscope,  which 
at  best  give  them  but  a  superficial  knowledge  of  certain 
details  of  science,  while  it  leaves  them  in  ignorance  of  the 
greater  and  better  part  of  it,  do  not  appeal  to  them.  They 
prefer  general  ideas  to  particular  facts,  and  love  to  roam 
over  the  whole  realm  of  science  rather  than  confine  them- 
selves to  one  of  its  isolated  corners. 

" Women,"  writes  M.  Etienne  Lamy,  the  distinguished 
French  Academician,  "group  themselves  at  the  center 
of  human  knowledge,  whereas   men   disperse  themselves 


410  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

towards  its  outer  boundaries.  While  men  are  always  push- 
ing analysis  to  its  utmost  limits,  women  are  seeking  a 
synthesis.  While  men  are  becoming  more  technical, 
women  are  becoming  more  intellectual.  They  are  better 
placed  to  observe  the  correlations  of  the  different  sciences, 
and  to  subordinate  them  to  the  common  and  unique  source 
of  truth  from  which  they  all  descend.  We  seem,  indeed, 
to  be  approaching  a  time  when  women  will  become  the  con- 
servers  of  general  ideas/ ' x 

In  the  preceding  chapter  reference  was  made  to  the  fact 
that  women  are  naturally  inclined  to  adopt  the  deductive 
method  in  their  search  for  truth  when  men  would  employ 
only  the  inductive  method.  This  disposition  of  theirs  to 
arrive  at  conclusions  by  a  kind  of  intuition,  coupled  with 
their  more  pronounced  idealism,  is  sure  to  react  favor- 
ably on  men,  and  prevent  them  from  becoming  so  involved 
in  mere  facts  and  phenomena  as  to  cause  them  to  forget 
that  it  is  as  important  to  reason  well  as  to  observe  well — 
that  the  fundamental  principles  of  a  true  philosophy  are 
quite  as  necessary  for  the  eminent  man  of  science  as  they 
are  to  the  trustworthy  historian  or  commanding  states- 
man. 

From  what  has  been  said,  it  is  clear  that  man's  ideal 
of  the  woman  of  the  future  will  be  quite  different  from 
what  it  was  but  a  little  more  than  a  century  ago,  when 
Dr.  Johnson  could  say  that  "any  acquaintance  with 
books, "  among  women,  "was  distinguished  only  to  be  cen- 
sured.''  It  will  be  quite  different  from  the  ideal  woman, 
as  portrayed  by  poets  and  novelists,  for  centuries  past. 
For  among  the  thousands  of  women  painted  by  our  lead- 
ing writers  of  fiction,  poets  and  dramatists  there  are  few, 
if  any,  outside  of  those  sketched  by  Tennyson  in  The 
Princess,  who  are  distinguished  for  their  learning  or  for 
their  love  of  intellectual  pursuits.     Even  Portia,  Shake- 

i  La  Femme  de  Demwn,  pp.  45,  46,  Paris,  1912. 


FUTURE    OF    WOMEN    IN    SCIENCE      411 

speare's  most  learned  woman,  was,  according  to  her  own 
confession,  but 

"An  unlessoned  girl,  unschooled,  unpracticed." 

And  the  heroines  of  the  novelist,  far  from  being  women 
who  had  a  thirst  for  knowledge,  or  were  eager 

"To  sound  the  abyss 
Of  science  and  the  secrets  of  the  mind/1 

were  those  only  whose  chief  attractions  were  physical 
graces  and  charms,  affectionate  natures,  brilliant  wit  to- 
gether with  "sweet  laughs  for  bird-notes  and  blue  eyes  for 
a  heaven. " 

Now,  however,  that  women  after  ages  of  struggle  are 
beginning  to  experience  a  sense  of  intellectual  freedom 
before  unknown,  and  to  exult  in  the  fact  that 

"Knowledge  is  now  no  more  a  fountain  sealed"; 

now  that  they  are,  for  the  first  time,  beginning,  in  every 
civilized  nation,  to  realize  their  age-long  aspirations  for 
unimpeded  opportunity  in  all  the  activities  of  the  intel- 
lect; now  that  they  are  no  longer 

"Dismiss'd  in  shame  to  live 
No  wiser  than  their  mothers,  household  stun> 
Live   chattels,     *     *     * 
*     *     *     laughing-stocks  of  Time," 

we  may  expect  soon  to  see  a  marked  change  in  the  char- 
acter of  the  ideal  woman  as  depicted  in  literature  and  as 
desired  by  the  intelligent  portion  of  mankind. 

What  woman's  liberation  from  intellectual  bondage  and 
her  freedom  to  devote  herself  to  scientific  pursuits  mean 
for  the  future  of  humanity  it  is  difficult  at  present  ade- 
quately to  forecast.  That  it  will  contribute  immensely  to 
the  betterment  of  social  conditions  and  to  the  elevation  of 
the  masses  of  humanity,  there  can  be  no  doubt.  Setting 
free  the   imprisoned  energies  of  one  half  of  our  race. 


412  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

means  more  than  doubling  mankind's  capacity  for  ad- 
vancement. For  the  failure  to  utilize  woman's  vast  ener- 
gies, pining  for  an  outlet,  acted  as  a  drag  on  man's  own 
potentialities,  and  thus  retarded  to  an  untold  extent  the 
world's  advancement.  In  times  past,  as  has  aptly  been 
said,  "an  enormous  part  of  the  brain  power  of  mankind 
has  been  spent  or  wasted  in  smiting  the  Philistines  hip  and 
thigh,  and  an  enormous  part  of  the  brain  power  of  woman- 
kind has  been  spent  in  cajoling  Sampson." 

It  will  mean  that  the  women  of  the  future  will  be  more 
suitable  companions  for  the  rapidly  increasing  number  of 
highly  educated  men  of  science;  that  having  their  intel- 
lects developed  pari  passu  with  those  of  men,  they  will  be 
able  to  sympathize  with  the  noblest  aims  of  their  husbands 
and  assist  them  in  their  most  important  undertakings,  as 
did  the  wives  of  Huber,  Lavoisier,  Pasteur,  Huxley,  Louis 
Agassiz  and  others  scarcely  less  renowned  in  the  annals 
of  science.  It  will  mean  that  they  will  not  only  share 
in  the  joys  and  the  sorrows  of  their  life-companions,  but 
that  they  will  also  have  a  part  in  their  thoughts,  their 
studies,  their  labors,  their  achievements.  For  one  should 
bear  in  mind  that  the  first  essential  to  a  perfect  union  of 
hearts  is  a  perfect  harmony  of  minds.  "Where  neither  hus- 
band nor  wife  is  educated,  the  virtues  may  suffice  for  com- 
panionship, but  where  the  man  is  educated  and  the  woman 
ignorant,  there  are  sooner  or  later  estrangements  and  the 
wife  becomes  little  better  than  an  old  Japanese  conception 
of  her,  "a  cook  without  pay,"  or  a  pasha's  toy  for  an  idle 
hour.  Chrysalde  in  Moliere's  L'ficole  des  Femmes,  de- 
clares : 

"Qu'il  est  assez  ennuyeux,  que  je  crois, 
D'avoir  toute  sa  vie  une  bete  avec   soi." 

A  briefer  and  truer  statement  of  the  evils  of  unequal  in- 
tellectual mating  was  never  penned.1     Men  of  intelligence 
1  Dr.  Johnson  expressed  the  same  sentiment  when  he  declared  that 
a  man  of  sense  should  meet  a  suitable  companion  in  a  wife.     "It 


FUTURE    OF   WOMEN    IN    SCIENCE      413 

are  no  longer,  like  Rousseau,  satisfied  with  an  ignorant  do- 
mestic for  a  wife,  and  still  less  are  they  disposed  with 

was  a  miserable  thing,' '  he  asserted  in  characteristic  fashion,  "when 
the  conversation  could  only  be  such  as  whether  the  mutton  should 
be  boiled  or  roasted,  and  a  probable  dispute  about  that." 

Sidney  Smith,  in  a  forceful  and  trenchant  essay  On  the  Education 
of  Women,  written  for  the  Edinburgh  Beview  a  century  ago,  gives  it 
as  his  deliberate  opinion  that  "The  instruction  of  women  improves 
the  stock  of  natural  talents,  and  employs  more  minds  for  the  in- 
struction and  amusement  of  the  world;  it  increases  the  pleasures  of 
society  by  multiplying  the  topics  upon  which  the  two  sexes  take  a 
common  interest;  and  makes  marriage  an  intercourse  of  understand- 
ing as  well  as  of  affection  by  giving  dignity  and  importance  to  the 
female  character.  The  education  of  women  favors  public  morals;  it 
provides  for  every  season  of  life  as  well  as  for  the  brightest  and 
the  best;  and  leaves  a  woman  when  she  is  stricken  by  the  hand  of 
time,  not  as  she  now  is,  destitute  of  everything  and  neglected  by  all, 
but  with  the  full  power  and  the  splendid  attractions  of  knowledge, — 
diffusing  the  elegant  pleasures  of  polite  literature,  and  receiving  the 
just  homage  of  learned  and  accomplished  men." 

As  to  the  oft  repeated  commonplace  of  noodledom  that  higher 
education  puts  an  end  to  domestic  economy  and  deteriorates  the 
noblest  qualities  of  womanhood,  the  same  clear-headed  writer  asks: 
"Can  anything  ...  be  more  perfectly  absurd  than  to  suppose 
that  the  care  and  perpetual  solicitude  which  a  mother  feels  for  her 
children,  depends  upon  her  ignorance  of  Greek  or  mathematics;  and 
that  she  would  desert  an  infant  for  a  quadratic  equation — that  Cim- 
merian ignorance  can  aid  parental  affection,  or  the  circle  of  the  arts 
and  sciences  produce  its  destruction — that  the  moment  you  suffer 
women  to  eat  of  the  tree  of  knowledge  the  rest  of  the  family  will 
very  soon  be  reduced  to  the  same  kind  of  aerial  and  unsatisfactory 
diet?" 

Still  more  insistent  on  the  necessity  of  the  broadest  and  deepest 
education  for  woman — education  in  science  as  well  as  in  art  and  lit- 
erature—is the  Most  Eev.  Archbishop,  J.  L.  Spalding,  who  by  his 
writing  and  lectures  has  done  so  much  for  the  cause  of  the  higher 
education  of  both  men  and  women.  In  an  eloquent  and  pregnant  dis- 
course, pronounced  in  the  Church  of  the  Gesii  in  Eome,  in  March, 
1900,  he  told  his  vast  audience — composed  of  the  61ite  of  the  Eternal 
City— that: 

"If  we  are  to  have  a  race  of  enlightened,  noble,  and  brave  men, 
we  must  give  to  woman  the  best  education  it  is  possible  for  her  to 


414  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

Schopenhauer  to  regard  woman  as  an  incurable  Philistine, 
and  as  a  mere  intermediary  between  a  child  and  a  man. 
They  have  learned  by  sad  experience  that  it  is  contrary 
both  to  justice  and  public  policy  to  impose  artificial  restric- 
tions on  the  acquisition  of  knowledge  by  women,  or  to  close 
to  the  vigorous  and  capable  representatives  of  their  sex 
careers  which  are  open  to  the  weakest  and  most  incom- 
petent men.  History  has  taught  them  that  the  fall  of 
Greece  and  Rome  was  owing  to  the  failure  of  these  nations 
to  make  due  provision  for  the  mental  development  of 
women. 

And  women  know  that  it  was  because  of  the  inability 
of  the  wives  of  the  Athenians  to  enter  into  the  thoughts 
of  their  highly  educated  husbands  and  to  sympathize  with 
their  aims  and  appreciate  their  achievements  that  caused 
the  men  to  leave  them  in  their  solitude  and  seek  in  the 
companionship  of  the  hetaerae  the  intellectual  atmosphere 
which  was  wanting  in  their  own  homes.  They  know,  too, 
that  the  lack  of  knowledge  in  the  wife  and  the  absence 
of  virtue  in  the  hetaerae,  which  brought  such  disasters  on 

receive.  She  has  the  same  right  as  man  to  become  all  that  she  may 
be,  to  know  whatever  may  be  known,  to  do  whatever  is  fair  and  just 
and  good.  In  souls  there  is  no  sex.  If  we  leave  half  the  race  in  ig- 
norance, how  shall  we  hope  to  lift  the  other  half  into  the  light  of 
truth  and  love?  Let  woman's  mental  power  increase,  let  her  influ- 
ence grow,  and  more  and  more  she  will  stand  by  the  side  of  man 
as  a  helper  in  all  his  struggles  to  make  the  will  of  God  prevail.  Prom 
the  time  the  Virgin  Mother  held  the  Infant  Saviour  in  her  arms,  to 
this  hour,  woman  has  been  the  great  lover  of  Christ  and  the  un- 
weary  helper  of  His  little  ones;  and  the  more  we  strengthen  and 
illumine  her,  the  more  we  add  to  her  sublime  faith  and  devotion 
the  power  of  knowledge  and  culture,  the  more  efficaciously  shall  she 
work  to  purify  life,  to  make  justice,  temperance,  chastity,  and  love 
prevail.  She  is  more  unselfish,  more  capable  of  enthusiasm  for 
spiritual  ends,  she  has  more  sympathy  with  what  is  beautiful,  noble, 
and  god-like  than  man;  and  the  more  her  knowledge  increases,  the 
more  shall  she  become  a  heavenly  force  to  help  spread  God's  king- 
dom on  earth." 


FUTURE    OF    WOMEN    IN    SCIENCE      415 

the  most  learned  and  most  cultured  of  nations  are  still 
evils  to  be  guarded  against,  and  that  one  of  the  means 
over  and  above  moral  rule  and  revealed  truth  of  safe- 
guarding their  own  interests  and  preserving  the  sanctity 
of  the  home  is  to  make  themselves  by  knowledge  and  cul- 
ture the  intellectual  equals  of  their  consorts. 

They  realize  also  that  if  they  are  to  attain  the  highest 
measure  of  success  as  wives  and  mothers,  a  broad  and 
thorough  education — a  knowledge  of  science,  as  well  as  fa- 
miliarity with  art  and  literature  and  the  teachings  of  re- 
ligion— is  essential  to  them  for  their  children's  sake.  It  is 
said  that 

"The  hand  that  rocks  the  cradle  rules  the  world," 

but  how  much  truer  is  it  that  '  ■  The  domestic  hearth  is  the 
first  of  schools,  and  the  best  of  lecture-rooms;  for  here  the 
heart  will  cooperate  with  the  mind,  the  affections  with  the 
reasoning  power."  It  is  only  when  the  mothers  of  this, 
the  woman's  century,  shall  dispute  with  men  the  primacy 
of  erudition — when  they  shall  prove  their  mastery  of  those 
newer  sciences  by  which  our  age  sets  such  great  store — 
when  they  shall  possess 

"Seraphic  intellect  and  force 

To  seize  and  throw  the  doubts  of  man"; 

that  their  grown-up  sons  will  have  the  same  confidence  in 
their  intelligence  as  they  now  have  in  their  hearts.  Then 
only  will  mothers  be  properly  equipped  for  developing 
the  character  of  their  children ;  for  inspiring  them  with  a 
love  of  the  true,  the  beautiful  and  the  good;  for  stimu- 
lating their  talents  and  aiding  them  to  attain  to  all  the 
sublimities  of  knowledge ;  for  assisting  them  in  doubt  and 
despondency  and  firing  them  with  an  ambition  to  strive 
for  supreme  excellence  in  all  that  makes  for  the  nobility 
of  manhood  and  the  glory  of  womanhood;   for  making 


416  WOMAN    IN    SCIENCE 

them,  as  Beatrice  made  Dante  after  he  was  renewed  and 
purified  in  the  waters  of  Eunoe,  "fit  to  mount  up  to  the 
stars.' ' 

uPuro   e  disposto   a  salire   alle   stelle." 

The  romantic  idea  of  treating  woman  as  a  clinging  vine, 
and  thus  eliminating  half  the  energies  of  humanity,  is 
rapidly  disappearing  and  giving  place  to  the  idea  that 
the  strong  are  for  the  strong — the  intellectually  strong; 
that  the  evolution  of  the  race  will  be  complete  only  when 
men  and  women  shall  be  associated  in  perfect  unity  of 
purpose,  and  shall,  in  fullest  sympathy,  collaborate  for  the 
attainment  of  the  highest  and  the  best.  Then,  indeed,  will 
man's  helpmate  become  to  him  and  to  his  children 

"More  rich  than  pearls  of  Ind  or  gold  of  Ophir, 
And  in  her  sex  more  wonderful  and  rare." 

Then  will  men  and  women  for  the  first  time  fully  supple- 
ment each  other  in  their  aspirations  and  endeavors  and 
realize  somewhat  of  that  oneness  of  heart  and  mind  which 
was  so  beautifully  adumbrated  in  Plato 's  androgyn.  Then 
will  the  world  witness  the  return  of  another  Golden  Age — 
the  Golden  Age  of  Science — the  Golden  Age  of  cultured, 
noble,  perfect  womanhood.  Then  to  all  who  really  think 
and  love  will  be  manifest  the  clearness  and  power  of  vision 
of  England's  great  poet  laureate  when  in  matchless  num- 
bers he  sings: 

"The  woman's  cause  is  man's;  they  rise  or  sink 
Together,  dwarfed  or  godlike,  bond  or  free. 

**♦***♦ 

For  woman  is  not  undevelopt  man 

But  diverse:  could  we  make  her  as  the  man, 

Sweet  Love  were  slain;  his  dearest  bond  is  this, 

Not  like  to  like,  but  like  in  difference. 

Yet  in  the  long  years  liker  must  they  grow; 

The  man  be  more  of  woman,  she  of  man; 


FUTURE    OF   WOMEN    IN    SCIENCE      417 

He  gain  in   sweetness  and  in  moral   height, 
Nor  lose  the  wrestling  thews  that  throw  the  world; 
She  mental  breadth,  nor  fail  in  childward  care, 
Nor  lose  the  childlike  in  the  larger  mind; 
Till  at  the  last  she  set  herself  to  man, 
Like  perfect  music  unto  noble  words; 
And  as  these  twain,  upon  the  skirts  of  Time, 
Sit  side  by  side,  full-summ'd  in  all  their  powers, 
Dispensing  harvest,   sowing  the  To-be, 
Self-rev'rent  each,  and  reverencing  each, 
Distinct  in  individualities, 
But  like  each  other  ev'n   as  those  who  love, 
Then  comes  the  statelier  Eden  back  to  men; 
Then  reign  the  world's  great  bridals  chaste  and  calm; 
Then  springs  the  crowning  race  of  human-kind. 
May  these  things  be!" 


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INDEX 


Abelard,  141,   142. 

Abella,  physician,  286. 

Abrege  de  Navigation,  La- 
lande's,   182. 

Academy  of  ancient  Athens,  ad- 
mission "of  women  to,  10. 

Academy  of  the  Lincei,  Donna 
Caetani-Bovatelli,  dean  of, 
326. 

Academy  of  Science,  French. 
See  French  Academy  of  Sci- 
ence. 

Acta  Mythologica  Apostolorum 
in  Arabic,  translated  by  Agnes 
Lewis,  331  footnote. 

Adams,  (Mrs.)  Abigail,  quoted, 
100. 

Adams,  Charles  Francis,  quoted, 
100. 

Adams,  Elizabeth,  344. 

Addison,  98. 

Adelheid,  52. 

iEgidius,  quoted,  282  footnote. 

JEschines,  13. 

Africa,  Mary  Kingsley's  explora- 
tions in,  257,  258. 

Agamede,  physician,  267,  268. 

Aganice,  daughter  of  Sesostris, 
167. 

Agassiz,  (Mrs.)  Elizabeth  Cary, 
255,  377. 

Agassiz,  Jean  Louis,  255,  378. 

Aglaonice,  the  first  woman 
astronomer,  167. 

Agnesi,   Maria   Gaetana,   78,   79, 


105,  228,  230;  knowledge 
of  languages  of,  143,  144; 
achievements  of,  in  mathe- 
matics, 144-150;  charitable 
works  of,  148-151;  exclusion 
of,  from  French  Academy, 
393. 

Agnodice,  physician,  268,  269, 
290. 

Agricola,  Eudolph,  62. 

Agriculture,  English  Board  of, 
250. 

Agriculturists,  women  as,  335, 
338. 

Agrippina,  24,  25;  prose  writ- 
ings of,  28. 

Albategni,    169. 

Albert  the  Great,  233. 

Alcaeus,  in  praise  of  Sappho,  6. 

Alcala,  University  of,  68. 

Alciphoron,   11. 

Alexandria,  Hypatia's  work  in, 
138,  199,  200. 

Algae,  Dr.  Snow's  work  on,  254. 

Algarotti,  Francisco,   152. 

Algebra,  taught  by  Hypatia,  139. 

Alpine  flora,  Amalie  Dietrich's 
collection  of,  243. 

Amazonia,  explorations  of  Ma- 
dame Coudreau  in,  259-261. 

Ambrosius,  Franciscus,  142. 

American  Chemical  Society,  228. 

American  Philosophical  Society, 
228. 

Amoretti,  Maria  Pellegrina,  77. 


427 


45»8 


INDEX 


Ampere,  in  praise  of  fimilie  du 
Chatelet,  151. 

Analyse  des  Infiniment  Petits,  by 
Marquis  l'Hopital,  376. 

Anatomical  models,  perfected  by 
Anna  Manzolini,  236;  per- 
fected  by  Mile.  Biheron,   238. 

Anatomy,  the  study  of,  by 
women,  236-238. 

Anaxagoras,  12. 

Ancren  Biwle,  40. 

Andrea,  Novella  d',  53,  79. 

Andromeda,  6. 

Anguisciola  sisters  of  Cremona, 
61. 

Annals  of  Tacitus,  28. 

Antelmy,  Agnesi  's  Analytical 
Institutions  translated  into 
French  by,  146. 

Antiochis,  physician,  270. 

Antipater,  epigram  of,  6  foot- 
note. 

Any  tee,  17. 

Apelles,  11. 

Apocrypha  Arabica,  edited  by 
Margaret  Gibson,  330  footnote 

Apocrypha  Sinaitica,  330  foot 
note. 

Apocrypha  Syriaca  Sinaitica,  ed 
ited  by  Agnes  Lewis,  331  foot 
note. 

Apollonius,    Conic    Sections    of 
Hypatia  's      commentary      on 
168. 
Apollonius  of  Perga,  139,  140. 

Aquinas,    Thomas,    quoted,    297 

footnote. 
Arabic  Version  of  the  Acta  Apoc- 
rypha Apostolorum  edited  by 
Agnes  Lewis,  331  footnote. 
Arabic  Version  of  the  Acts  of 
the  Apostles  and  the  Seven 
Catholic    Epistles,    edited    by 


Margaret  Gibson,  330  footnott 
Arabic  Version  of  St.  Paul' 
Epistles  to  the  Eomans,  Corin 
thians,  Galatians  and  part  o 
Ephesians,  by  Margaret  Git 
son,  330  footnote. 
Arago,  202. 

Archaeology,    museums    of,    309 
310;      women      in,      309-333 
American  women  in,  321-324. 
Archagatos,  271. 
Archimedes,  197. 
Archlanassa,  10. 
Ardinghelli,    Maria    Angela,    77 

142. 
Arditi,  Michele,  311. 
Areometer,  invention  of,  by  Hy 

patia,  200. 
Arete  of  Cyrene,  teacher  of  phil 

osophy,  197-199. 
Arezzo,  Leonardo   d',   course   oJ 
study  for  women  planned  by 
84  footnote. 
Ariosto,  quoted,   6  footnote,  57; 
in  praise  of  Vittoria  Colonna 
61,  63,  66. 
Aristippus,  10,  197. 
Aristotelian  theory  of   difference 
between    intellectual    capacitj 
of  men  and  women,  110. 
Aristotle,  in  praise  of  Sappho,  5; 

10,  197. 
Arithmetica  of  Diophantus,  Hy- 
patia's    commentary    on,    139, 
168. 
Arrighi,  G.  L.,  364  footnote. 
Art,  achievements  of  women  in, 
in    Italy    during    the    Eenais- 
sance,  60,  61. 
Ascham,  Eoger,  69  footnote. 
Asclepiades,    271. 
Ashley,  Mary,  196. 
Aske,  Eobert,  quoted,  41. 


INDEX 


429 


Aspasia,    of   Miletus,    12-14,    16, 

17,  26. 

Aspasia,  physician,  199,  270. 
Assisi,  St.  Francis,  358. 
Astrolabe,  invention  of,  by  Hy- 

patia,  140,  200. 
Astronomical    Canon,   Hypatia  's, 

140,  168. 
Astronomical  Society  of  France, 

Dorothea  Klumpke  first  woman 

member  of,  194. 
Astronomie      des     Dames,     La- 

lande's,  178,  181. 
Astronomy,  achievements  of  Hy- 
patia in,  139,  200-201;  women 

in,  167-196. 
At  Susa  by  Mme.  Dienlafoy,  320 

footnote. 
Athenaeus,  137. 
Athens,    position    of    women   in, 

3-5,  16,  18,  19,  199,  414,  415 ; 

culture  of,  404. 
Attica,  198. 

Aucassin  et  Nicolette,  275. 
Augustus,  Emperor,  19,  24. 
Aurelia,  mother  of  Julius  Caesar, 

22. 

Austen,  Jane,  98. 
Auzoux,  Dr.,  236. 
Ayrton,    Mrs.    W.    E.,    achieve- 
ments  of,   in   electricity,    212, 

230. 

Baker,  Lady,  wife  of  Sir  Samuel 
Baker,  374. 

Balzac,  88. 

Barbapiccola,  Eleonora,  of  Sa- 
lerno, 76. 

Bascom,  Florence,  254. 

Bassani,  Signora,  lacemaker,  337. 

Bassi,  Laura,  78,  79,  147,  148, 
203-209,  210,  211,  212,  298; 
birth    of,     at    Bologna,    203; 


Doctorate  of  Physics  bestowed 

upon,  204;  letters  of  Voltaire 

to,  207. 
Bazzani,  Doctor,  204. 
Beatrice,  357,  361. 
Beausoleil,  Baroness  de,  238-240. 
Becquerel,  M.  H.,  223,  227,  228. 
Beethoven,   359. 
Bellini,  66. 
Bembo,     Cardinal,     61,     63;     in 

praise  of  Elizabetta  Gonzaga, 

67. 
Benedict  XIV,  78,  147,  148,  203, 

204,  228. 
Berlin     Academy     of     Sciences, 

371. 
Bern,  University  of,  304. 
Bernouilli,  Jean,  152. 
Bernstein,   Dr.    Julius,   on  intel- 
lectual    capacity     of     women, 

133. 
Berthollet,  216. 
Besant,  Sir  Walter,  quoted,  102- 

105. 
Bianchetti,  Giovanna,  298. 
Bianchetti,  Maddalena,  298. 
Biheron,  Mile.,  238. 
Biology,    245,    254;    as    a   basis 

for     woman's     equality     with 

man,  399. 
Biot,    154,    216;    in    praise    of 

Sophie  Germain,  156. 
Bishop,  Isabella  Bird,  256. 
Blackwell,    Miss   Elizabeth,   phy- 
sician, 300-304,  305,  307. 
Bobinski,   Countess,   196. 
Boccaccio,  197. 
Bocchi,  Dorotea,  298. 
Boileau's  satire   on  Mme.   de  la 

Sabliere,  172. 
Boke    of    the    Cyte    of    Ladyes, 

quoted  from,  106,  107,  108. 
Boleyn,  Anne,  69. 


430 


INDEX 


Bollandists,  on  work  of  St.  Hil- 
degard,  47. 

Bologna,  Academy  of  Sciences 
of,  207. 

Bologna,  University  of,  203-210, 
236,  296-299;  in  Middle  Ages, 
53;  women  lecturers  and  pro- 
fessors in,  57,  78,  79;  Dorotea 
Bucca  of,  62;  degrees  con- 
ferred upon  Maddalena  Ca- 
nedi-Noe  and  Maria  Vittoria 
Dosi  by,  77;  chair  of  higher 
mathematics  in,  given  to 
Maria  Gaetana  Agnesi,  78,  148. 

Bonaparte,  Caroline,  archaeologi- 
cal excavations  of,  311,  312, 
317. 

Bonaparte,  Joseph,  311. 

Borghini,  Maria  Selvaggia  of 
Pisa,  76. 

Borromeo,  Clelia  Grillo,  of 
Genoa,  77,  142. 

Bos,  J.  Eitzema,  253  footnote. 

Bossuet,  Abb6,  88,  146. 

Boston,  public  schools  of,   99. 

Botany,  256;  Frau  Kablick's 
studies  in,  242,  243;  Amalie 
Dietrich's  studies  in,  243-244; 
cryptoganic,  254. 

Bouchet,  Jean,  quoted,  74  foot- 
note. 

Bovin,  Mme.  Marie,  physician, 
293-295. 

Bowles,  Ada  C,  quoted,  346,  347. 

Boyd,  Ella  F.,  254. 

Boyd,  Harriet,  317;  archaeolog- 
ical investigations  of,  321,  322. 

Boyd,  Mary  E.,  of  Smith,  195. 

Brahe,  Sophia,  170. 

Brahe,  Tycho,  170. 

Brain,  convolutions  of,  as  an 
index  to  intelligence,  122,  123; 
frontal  lobe  of,  in  man  and  in 


woman,    122;    gray  matter  oi 
and  its  relation  to  intelligence, 
123. 

Brain  weight,  relation  of,  to* 
mental  power,  118-122,  124- 
126. 

Brenzoni,  Laura,  58,  59. 

Brescia,  University  of,  62. 

British  Museum,  256,  258. 

Britton,  Elizabeth  Gv  254. 

Broca,  116,  126. 

Bronte  sisters,  98,  114,  115,  264. 

Brosses,  M.  Charles  de,  quoted, 
144. 

Brougham,  Lord,  159. 

Brown,  Alice,   196. 

Browning,  Elizabeth  Barrett, 
114. 

Bruce,  Miss  C,  196. 

Brush,  Mary,  344. 

Brussels,  229. 

Brutus,  23. 

Bryn  Mawr,  College  of,  166. 

Bucca,  Dorotea,  62,  79. 

Buchner,  246. 

Buckland,  Mrs.  William,  374, 
375. 

Buckle,  384,  385,  386. 

Burckhardt,  210. 

Burney,  Fanny,  98. 

Burnmeister,  248. 

Bush,  Katherine  J.,  254. 

Butter,  Josephine  E.,  291  foot- 
note. 


Caedmon,   influence   of  St.  Hilda 

on,  37,  38. 
Caesar,  Aurelia,  mother  of,  22. 
Caetani-Bovatelli,  Donna  Ersilia, 

archaeologist,    324-327. 
Caetani-Sermonetta,  Duke  of,  324, 

325. 


INDEX 


431 


Caius  Musonius  Rufus,  on  educa- 
tion of  women,  30,  31. 

Calendrini,  Bettina,  298. 

Calendrini,  Novella,  298. 

California,  University  of,  323. 

Calphurnia,  letters  of,  29. 

Calpurnia,  356,  361. 

Cambridge,  University  of,  funds 
from  suppressed  convents  de- 
voted to,  41,  42;  exclusion  of 
women  from,  80,  100,  230,  330- 
333. 

Camoens,  57. 

Candolle,  Alphonse  de,  392,  393. 

Canedi-Noe,  Maddalena,  77. 

Cannon,  Annie  J.,  195. 

Canova,  in  praise  of  Suor  Plan- 
tilla  Nelli,  60  footnote. 

Canticle  of  the  Sun,  The,  by 
St.  Francis  Assisi,  quoted,  359. 

Cape  Observations,  Herschel  's, 
186,  189. 

Carlyle,  quoted,  79  footnote. 

Cassius,  wife  of,  23. 

Castiglione,  66,  67;  in  praise  of 
women,   359. 

Catalogue  of  Eight  Hundred  and 
Sixty  Stars  Observed  by  Flam- 
steed  but  Not  Included  in  the 
British  Catalogue,  by  Caroline 
Herschel,  186. 

Catani,  Giuseppina,  professor  of 
pathology  at  Bologna,  296. 

Caterzani,  299. 

Catherine  of  Aragon,  68,  69. 

Cato,  quoted,  27. 

Catullus,  5. 

Celeste,  Sister  Maria,  daughter 
of  Galileo,  363-369. 

Celleor,  Mrs.,  quoted,  268. 

Celsus,  174. 

Ceretta,  Laura,  62. 

Cervantes,  57. 


Chantry,  bust  of  Mary  Somerville 

by,  159. 
Charity,  Sisters  of,  308. 
Charlemagne,  39. 
Chateaubriand,  256. 
Chatelain,  289  footnote. 
Chatelet,  £milie  du,  87;  151-153; 

achievements  of,  in  astronomy, 

175-177;        as       mathematical 

physicist,  201,  202. 
Chaucer,   quoted,   40    footnote. 
Chemistry,    women    in,    214-232; 

sanitary,  218. 
Chesterfield,  Lord,  quoted,  97. 
Chiavello,  Livia,  of  Fabriano,  59. 
Chinchon,  Countess  of,  299  foot- 
note. 
Chinchona  bark,  introduction  of, 

into  Europe,  299  footnote. 
Chopin,    359. 
Christian     Inscriptions     in     the 

Irish      Language      by      Miss 

Stotes,  316. 
Christine  of  Sweden,  82,  94,  370. 
Church  of  the  Household,  31-34. 
Cibo,  Catarina,  of  Genoa,  59,  60. 
Cicero,   8;    tribute   of,  to  Laelia, 

23;  Tulia's  letters  to,  29. 
Cirey,  201. 
Cite  des  Dames,  106,   107,   108, 

109,   134. 
Clairaut,     152;     work    of,    with 

Mme.  Lepaute,  179,  180. 
Clapp,  Cornelia  M.,  254. 
Clarke,  Cora  H.,  254. 
Claviere,    in    praise    of    women, 

360. 
Claypole,   Agnes  M.,  254. 
Claypole,  Edith  J.,  254. 
Cleopatra,   physician,    270. 
Clerke,  Agnes  M.  and  Ellen  M., 

196. 


432 


INDEX 


Codex  Ludovicus,  discovery  of, 
328,  333. 

Codex  Nuttall,  324. 

Codex  Sinaiticus,  328. 

Coeducational  institutions,  com- 
parative standing  of  men  and 
women  in,  128,  129. 

Colonna,  Vittoria,  61,  62,  65,  359. 

Colton,  Rev.  John,  Agnesi's  Ana- 
lytical Institutions  translated 
into  French  by,  146,  147. 

Columbus,  56,  380. 

Comstock,  Anna  Botsford,  254. 

Comte,   245. 

Conde,  88. 

Condorcet,  334  footnote. 

Conic  Sections,  of  Apollonius, 
Hypatia's  commentary  on,  139, 
140,  168. 

Connection  of  the  Physical  Sci- 
ences by  Mary  Somerville,  160," 
211. 

Considerations  Generates  sur 
I 'Mat  des  Sciences  et  des  Let- 
tres  aux  Differentes  fipoques 
de  Leur  Culture  by  Sophie  Ger- 
main, 156. 

Convent  of  Aries,  36 ;  of  Poitiers, 
36;  of  St.  Hilda,  36;  of  Bish- 
opsheim,  39;  of  St.  Rupert  at 
Bingen,  46;  of  Helfta,  49. 

Convent  schools,  36,  41. 

Convents,  as  centers  of  learning 
in  Middle  Ages,  35-53;  sup- 
pression of,  in  England,  41, 
42;  advantages  of,  51;  in- 
fluence of,  51-53. 

Conventus  Matronarum,  27. 

Conversations  on  Chemistry,  by 
Mrs.  Marcet,  372. 

Copernicus,  56,  189. 

Corinna,  6,  17. 

Corneille,  88. 


Cornelia,  mother  of  the  Gracchi,i 
22,  25,  26.  | 

Cornelia,  wife  of  Pompey,  22. 

Cotton  gin,  invention  of,  351, 
352. 

Coudreau,  Henri,  258. 

Coudreau,  Mme.  Octavie,  256, 
258-264;  books  by,  263  foot- 
note. 

Courtier,  Castiglione 's,  66,  67. 

Cramoisy,  Marie,  82. 

Cranial  capacity,  relation  of,  to 
mental  energy,  115-117. 

Crete,  the  Forerunner  of  Greece, 
by  Mrs.  Hawes,  322. 

Crevaux,  262. 

Crisculo,  Maria  Angela,  61. 

Cumming,  Constance  Gordon, 
256. 

Cummings,  Clara  E.,  254 

Cunitz,  Maria,  170,  171. 

Cunningham,  Susan,  of  Swarth- 
more,  195. 

Curie,  Mme.  Marie  Klodowska, 
326,  333,  362,  394,  397,  221- 
232;  birth  and  early  life 
of,  221-222;  marriage  of,  to 
Pierre  Curie,  222;  scientific  in- 
vestigations and  discoveries  of, 
223-226;  honors  of,  227-232. 

Curie,  Pierre,  222,  224. 

Cushman,  Florence,  195. 

Cuvier,  weight  of  brain  of,  119; 
215,  216. 

Cyrene,  school  of  philosophy  at, 
197. 

Dacier,  Mme.,  82,  83  footnote. 
Damien,  Father,  274. 
Danophila,  7. 
Dante,  117,  324,  325,  357. 
Darboux,  M.,  in  praise  of  Doro- 
thea Klumpke,  193,  194. 


c«i§Daremberg,  Dr.  Charles,  234,  270, 
287  and  288  footnote. 
Darmstadt,    Medical    College    of, 


INDEX 


ivl 


292. 

Darwin,  on  man,  3,  113;  quoted, 
124. 

Darwin's  Origin  of  Species,  the 
French  translation  of,  by 
Clemence  Boyer,  245. 

Davy  gold  medal  of  the  Eoyal 
Society  awarded  to  the  Curies, 
227. 

Davidson,  Ada  B.,  254. 

Da  Vinci,  Leonardo,  66. 

Dawes,  191. 

Decameron,  The,  197. 

JDe  Compositione  Medicamen- 
torum,  by  Trotula,  285. 

Deffand,  Mme.  du,  11,  89,  92; 
Marquise  du  Chatelet  ridiculed 
by,  177  and  footnote,  178  foot- 
note. 

Deipnosophistce,  of  Athenaeus, 
137. 

Delambre,  216. 

De  Lamennais,  on  woman's  in- 
tellectual inferiority,  136. 

De  Morbis  Mulierum  et  Eorum 
Cura,  by  Trotula,  284  footnote. 

Demosthenes,  quoted,  3  footnote; 
10. 

Denifle,    79,    289    footnote. 

Denver  School  of  Mines,  woman 
principal  of,  254. 

De  Orbium  Celestium  Revolution- 
ibus,  189. 

De  Problemate  quodam  Hydro- 
metrico  by  Laura  Bassi,  209 
footnote. 

De  Problemate  quodam  Mechan- 
ico  by  Laura  Bassi,  208  foot- 
note. 


De  Prony,    in  praise   of   Sophie 

Germaine,  154. 
Descartes,  88,  94,  202;  doctrines 

of,  175,  176;  female  pupils  of, 

369,  370. 
Destouches,  86,  87. 
Diaz,  Porfirio,  324. 
Didascalia  Apostolorum   in  Syr- 

iac,   The,  edited   by  Margaret 

Gibson,  331  footnote. 
Diderot,     attitude     of,     toward 

women,  93. 
Dietrich,  Amalie,   botanist,   243- 

244. 
Dieulafoy,     Mme.,     archaeologist, 

317,   362;    archaeological   expe- 
ditions of,  318-321. 
Dieulafoy,  Marcel,  318. 
Diocletian,  272. 
Diogenes,   10. 
Diophantus,  Arithmetica  of,  Hy- 

patia's    commentary    on,    139, 

168. 
Diotima  of  Mantinea,  Socrates' 

tribute  to,  11. 
Divina  Commedia  by  Dante,  357. 
Dock,   Lavinia  L.,  280  footnote. 
Doni   Gasquet   on   dissolution  of 

convents,  41. 
Donne,  Maria  dalle,  79;   as  pro- 
fessor  of    obstetrics,    209;    as 

surgeon,  299-300. 
Dorat,  Jean,  quoted,  71  footnote. 
Dosi,  Maria  Vittoria,  77,  298. 
Dramas  of  Hroswitha,  43,  44. 
Draper,  Mrs.  Henry,  endowment 

of  the  Henry  Draper  Memorial 

at  Harvard  by,  196. 
Dryden,  98. 
Dumee,  Jeanne,  171. 
Dunraven's  Notes  on  Irish  Archi- 
tecture, edited  by  Miss  Stotes, 

316. 


434 


INDEX 


Dupanloup,    Mgr.,    quoted,    396 

footnote. 
Dupr6,  Marie,  82. 
Dupuytren,  294. 

Early  Christian  Art  m  Ireland, 
by  Miss  Stotes,  316. 

Eastman,  Alice,  254. 

Ecclesia  Domestica,  31-34. 

Eckenstein,  Lina,  quoted,  50 
footnote;  on  influence  of  con- 
vents, 52,  53. 

Nicole  de  Medecine  of  Paris,  ad- 
mittance of  women  to,  290. 

iDcole  de  Physique  et  de  Chimie 
in  Paris,  223. 

Itcole  des  Femmes,  412. 

Edinburgh,  University  of,  228, 
305;  opposition  of,  to  women, 
80;  Miss  Ormerod  receives  de- 
gree of  Doctor  of  Laws  at,^ 
252. 

Education,  during  the  Renais- 
sanee,  71-75;  in  England,  in 
the  Middle  Ages,  36-42;  in 
France,  in  the  post-Renais- 
sance period,  83-85. 

Education  of  women  in  ancient 
Greece,  1-18;  in  ancient  Rome, 
18-34;  in  Greece  and  Rome 
compared,  26,  27;  in  the  Mid- 
dle Ages,  34-54;  during  the 
Renaissance,  54-75;  in  Ger- 
many, in  post-Renaissance  pe- 
riod, 93,  94;  in  England,  in 
post-Renaissance  period,  96- 
98;  in  the  United  States,  in 
the  post-Renaissance  period, 
99,  100;  changes  in,  in  last 
three-quarters  of  a  century, 
102-105;  in  Italy,  210. 

Edwards,  Amelia  B.,  256. 

Eigenman,  Rose  S.,  254. 


Electricity,  work  of  Mrs.  Ayrton 
in,  212. 

Eliot,  George,  98,  264. 

Elizabeth  of  Bohemia,  94,  369, 
370,  371. 

Elizabeth,  Queen,  69,  70;  failure 
of,  to  provide  for  education  of 
women,  42. 

Elizabeth  of  Sweden,  82. 

Elizabeth,  wife  of  Hevilius,  175. 

Ellis,  Havelock,  117,  343  foot- 
note. 

tAogie  Historique,  Voltaire 's, 
152,  153. 

Emerson,  quoted,  105. 

Encyclopedists,  attitude  of,  to- 
ward women,  93. 

Engineering,  on  trans-Siberian 
railroad  in  charge  of  a  woman, 
102. 

England,  education  in,  in  the 
Middle  Ages,  36-42;  prestige 
of  abbesses  in,  52;  position  of 
woman  in,  during  the  Renais- 
sance, 57,  69;  position  of 
women  in,  during  post-Renais- 
sance period,  95-99;  women 
physicians  in,  304-307;  femi- 
nine population  of,  407. 

Entomology,  256 ;  achievements 
of  Missouri  woman  in,  254. 

Entomology,  economic,  Eleanor 
Ormerod 's  work  in,  247-252; 
her  publications  on,  249-250. 

Entretiens  sur  V Opinion  de  Co- 
pernic  Touchant  la  Mobilite  de 
la  Terre,  by  Jeanne  Dumee, 
171. 

Ephemeris  of  the  Academy  of 
Sciences,  Mme.  Lepaute's  work 
on,  181. 

Epicurus,  8,  10. 
.iSpinay,  Mme.  d'j  92. 


INDEX 


435 


Erasmus,  57,  68,  69,  73. 

Erinna,   7,  17. 

Frucarum     Ortus,    AUmenta    et 

Paradoxa    Metamorphosis,    by 

Frau  Merian,  242. 
Erxleben,  Dorothea  Christin,  phy- 
sician, 293  footnote. 
Espinasse,  Mile,   de  P,  11. 
Este,   Beatriche   6V,    Duchess   of 

Milan,  65,  66. 
Este,  Isabella  d;,  Marchioness  of 

Mantua,   archaeologist,   65,   66, 

310,  311. 
Estienne,  Robert,  71. 
Ethnology,  323. 
Euler,  Leonard,  202. 
Euripides,  12,  quoted,  3  footnote; 

12;   13  footnote;  268. 
Eustochium,  31-34,  357,  361. 
Everett,  Alice,  196. 
Evolution,       Clemence      Royer's 

theory  of,  246. 
Explorations      carried      on      by 

women,  257-263. 


Fabiola,  physician,  272-274. 
Fabricius,  248. 

Fairfax,  Mary.     See  Somerville. 
Fairfax,  Sir  William,  157,  211. 
Fantuzzi,     Giovanni,     205,     208, 

237  footnote. 
Faraday,  372,  373. 
Fawcett,  Mrs.  Henry,  128. 
Faye,  Mme.,  196. 
Fedele,  Cassandra,  59. 
Feijoo,   Benito  Jeronimo,  110. 
Felicie,    Jacobe,    physician,    289- 

290. 
Feltre,  Vittorino  da,  58  and  59 

footnote. 
Femmes  Savantes  of  Moliere,  30, 

85-87,   172. 


Ferrara,  court  of,  65,  66. 

Ferrara,  University  of,  62,  79. 

Ferreyra,  Bernada,  68. 

Fiorelli,  312  footnote. 

Flammarion,  Mme.,  196. 

Flechier,  88. 

Fleming,  Mrs.  W.,  achievements 
of,  in  astronomy,  195. 

Fletcher,  Alice  C,  archaeologist, 
322,  323. 

Fontana,  Lavinia,  61. 

Foot,  Katherine,  254. 

Form  and  Botation  of  the  Earth, 
The,  by  Mary  Somerville,  212. 

Fortunatus,   36. 

Forty-one  Facsimiles  of  Dated 
Christian  Arabic  Manuscripts 
by  Agnes  Lewis  and  Margaret 
Gibson,  331  footnote. 

France,  women  in,  during  the 
Renaissance,  70,  71;  women 
in,  during  the  post-Renaissance 
period,  81-93;  mineral  re- 
sources of,  Mme.  de  Beauso- 
leil's  interest  in,  239;  femi- 
nine population  of,  407. 

France,  University  of,  304. 

Frankland,  Percy,  376  footnote. 

Frederick  the  Great,  mother  of, 
370. 

Frei,  Frau  Teresa,  physician, 
292. 

French  Academy  of  Sciences, 
133,  146,  155,  201,  228,  232 
footnote,  238,  326;  exclusion 
of  women  from,  78,  229,  230, 
333,  393,  394. 

French  Institute,  246;  Sophie 
Germain  honored  by,  155;  dis- 
crimination of,  against  women, 
230-231  footnote. 

Frontal    lobe    of    brain   in 
and  in  woman,  122. 


436 


INDEX 


Fuller,  Thomas,  quoted,  75 
footnote. 

Fundamental  Principles  of  Old 
and  New  World  Civilizations, 
The,  by  Mrs.  Nuttall,  324. 


Gadolinium,  discovery  of,  219. 
Gage,  Susanna  Phelps,  254. 
Galfrido,  quoted,  298  footnote. 
Galileo,  364-369,  380. 
Galindo,  Beatrix,  68. 
Galvani,  Luigi,  210,  236,  372. 
Galvanic  electricity,  210. 
Gambara,  Veronica,  61. 
Gambetta,    weight    of    brain   of, 

120. 
Garden  of  Delights.     See  Hortus 

Deliciarum. 
Garrett,  Elizabeth,  physician,  290 

footnote,  304. 
Gassendi,   94. 
Gaufrey,     Antoine     Hamilton 's, 

169. 
Gebert,  141. 
Gegner    prize    from    the    French 

Academy  of  Sciences  awarded 

to  Mme.  Curie,  228. 
General   Index   of   Beference   to 

Every    Observation    of    Every 

Star   in   the   Above-mentioned 

British    Catalogue,    by    Caro- 
line Herschel,  186. 
Geneva,  University  of,  228,  304. 
Geneva,   New  York,   College  at, 

301. 
Genlis,  Mme.  de,  238. 
Geoffrin,  Mme.,  89. 
Geographical   Society   of   Berlin, 

256. 
Geology,  254. 
Geometry,    taught    by    Hypatia, 

139. 


Geraldini  brothers,  68. 

Gerberg,  Abbess,  43. 

Germain,  Sophia,  87,  154-157, 
391,  392;  grand  prix  of  French 
Academy  of  Science  won  by, 
155;  exclusion  of,  from  French 
Academy,  393. 

Germanicus,  wife  of,  24,  25. 

Germany,  education  in,  during 
Middle  Ages,  43-52;  privileges 
of  abbesses  in,  52;  position 
of  woman  in,  during  the  Re- 
naissance, 57,  70,  74;  women 
in,  in  post-Renaissance  period, 
93-95;  universities  of,  open  to 
women,  101;  attitude  of,  to- 
ward women  to-day,  130-134; 
feminine  population  of,  407. 

Gernez,  M.D.,   226,   footnote. 

Gertrude  the  Great,  46,  49. 

Gibbon,  quoted,  19. 

Gibson,  Margaret  Dunlop,  archae- 
ologist, 327-332,  333. 

Giessen,  University  of,  293. 

Giliani,  Alessandra,  237,  foot- 
note. 

Girton  College,  100. 

Gladstone,  quoted,  398,  footnote. 

Glycera,  10. 

Goethe,  385. 

Golden,  Katherine  E.,  254. 

Goldsmith,  98. 

Goncourt,  109. 

Gonzaga,  Cecelia,  58  and  59,  foot- 
note. 

Gonzaga,  Elizabetta,  66,  67,  310. 

Gorgo,  6;  quoted,  17. 

Gospel  of  Isbodad  in  Syriae  and 
English,  by  Margaret  Gibson, 
331,  footnote. 

Gottingen,  University  of,  293. 

Gozzadina,  Bitisia,  298. 

Gozzadini,  Bettina,  53. 


INDEX 


437 


Gracchi,  Cornelia,  mother  of  the, 
22. 

Granville,  Lord,  quoted,  97  and 
98  footnote. 

Grassi,  Ippolita,  298. 

Gravitation,  discovery  of,  384, 
385. 

Gray  matter  in  the  brain,  rela- 
tion of,  to  intelligence,  123. 

Gray's  Elegy,  quoted,  403. 

Greece,  ancient,  woman  and  edu- 
cation in,  1-18,  398;  position 
of  woman  in,  compared  with 
Kome,  18,  19,  25-27;  medical 
women  in,   267-271. 

Greene,  Catherine  L.,  cotton  gin 
invented  by,  351. 

Grey,  Lady  Jane,  69. 

Grignan,  Mme.  de,  82. 

Grimaldi,  Cardinal,  203. 

Guarna,  Eebeca  de,  physician, 
286. 

Gubernatis,  A.  de,  in  praise  of 
Donna  Bovatelli,  325. 

Gustavus  of  Sweden,  238. 

Haeckel,  246. 

Haeser,  278. 

Hall,  Mrs.  Asaph,  376. 

Hall,     Edith     H.,     archaeologist, 

321. 
Halle,  332. 
Halley,  140. 
Hamilton,  Antoine,  169. 
Hamilton,  Lady,  382,  383. 
Hamilton,  Sir  William,  382,  383. 
Hare,  Christopher,  311  footnote. 
Harmony  of   Women,  by  Peric- 

tione,  8. 
Harrison,  Jane  E.,  archaeologist, 

332,  333. 
Harvard  Observatory,  women  on 

staff  of,  195, 


Harvard  University,  99,  100; 
Henry  Draper  Memorial  at, 
196,  322. 

Haiiy,  385. 

Hawes,  C.  H.,  322. 

Hawes,  Mrs.  C.  H.  See  Boyd, 
Harriet. 

Heidelberg,  University  of,  62, 
332. 

Heine,  quoted,  30  footnote,  113. 

Hell,  Mme.  Hommaire  de,  373. 

Heller,  375. 

Helmholtz,  Hermann  von,  weight 
of  brain  of,  125  footnote. 

Heloise,  141,  142. 

Henry  VII,  107. 

Henry  VIII,  suppression  of  con- 
vents by,  41;  law  of,  in  favor 
of  women  physicians,   291. 

Henschel,  G.,  287  and  288  foot- 
note. 

Eeptameron,  70. 

Heredity,  as  a  basis  for  woman's 
equality  with  man,  399. 

Herpyllis,  10. 

Herrad,  45,  48,  49. 

Herschel,  Caroline,  159,  182-190, 
362,  377,  379,  383  footnote, 
discoveries  of,  183,  185;  astro- 
nomical writings  of,  186;  hon- 
ors of,  187-189. 

Herschel,  Mrs.  John,  quoted,  187, 
380  footnote. 

Herschel,  Sir  John,  159,  182, 186. 

Herschel,  Sir  William,  182-185, 
185  and  186  footnote,  378. 

Hertzen,  272  footnote. 

Hetajrae,  the,  9-12,  18,  414;  mis- 
tresses of  French  salons  com- 
pared with,  92. 

Hevilius,  175. 

Hierophilos,  269. 


438 


INDEX 


Hill,  Georgiana,  Women  in  Eng- 
lish Life,  41. 

Hinckley,  Mary  H.,  254. 

Hipparchia,  8. 

Histoire  d'Henriette  d'Angle- 
terre,  91. 

Histoire  des  Insects  de  V Europe, 
by  Frau  Merian,  242. 

Histoire  des  Sciences  et  des  Sa- 
vants depuis  Deux  Siecles,  Can- 
dolle's,  392. 

History  of  the  Art  of  Antiquity, 
by  Winckelmann,  311. 

Hopital,  Marquis  de  V,  375. 

Horace,  5,  21  footnote,  113. 

Horoi  Semiticce,  330. 

Hortensia,  27. 

Hortus  Deliciarum,  by  Herrad, 
48,  49. 

Hospital,  first,  founded  by  Fabi- 
ola,  272. 

Hotel  de  Eambouillet,  88-89. 

Houllerigue,  M.  L.,  226  footnote. 

How  the  Codex  Was  Found,  by 
Mrs.  Gibson,  330. 

Howard,  John,  281  footnote. 

Hroswitha,  43-45. 

Huber,  Mme.,  371,  383  footnote. 

Huber,  Francois,  371. 

Hudson,  W.  H.,  on  the  dramas 
of  Hroswitha,  44. 

Huggins,  Lady,  196. 

Humboldt,  Alexander  von,  160, 
188,  211,  216,  256. 

Huschke,  122. 

Huxley,  251,  371,  377,  387,  388; 
on  physical  disability  of  wo- 
men, 127,  128. 

Huxley,  Leonard,  388  footnote* 

Hyde,  Dr.  Ida  H.,  254. 

Hyghens,  Constantine,  94. 

Hypatia,  235;  achievements  of, 
in   mathematics,    137-141;    in- 


ventions of,  140;  letters  of 
Synesius  to,  141;  achievements 
of,  in  astronomy,  168;  attain- 
ments of,  in  natural  philosophy 
and  astronomy,   199-201. 


Icthyology,  254. 

Iliad,  translated  by  Mme.  Dacier, 
82;  quotation  from,  267. 

Imperial  Academy  of  Sciences  of 
St.  Petersburg,  228. 

In  Artem  Analyticam  Isagoge, 
by  Francois  Viete,  363. 

In  the  Shadow  of  Sinai,  by  Mrs. 
Lewis,  327  footnote,  330. 

Incarnata,  Maria,  physician,  297. 

India,  position  of  woman  in,  5. 

Insects,  destructive,  Eleanor 
Ormerod's  study  of,  247;  her 
famous  leaflets  on,  249,  250. 

Insects,  microscopic,  Anna  Corn- 
stock's  work  on,  254. 

Institut  de  Saint  Cyr,  83,  85. 

Institutions  de  Physique,  by 
Marquise  du  Chatelet,  152,  202. 

Instituzioni  Analitiche,  by  Maria 
Gaetana  Agnesi,  78,  144-150, 
228. 

Inventions  of  Hypatia,  140. 

Inventors,  women  as,  334-355. 

Isabella  of  Castile,  290,  380. 

Isabella  of  Spain,  59,  68. 

Isis,  inventions  of,  335. 

Isocrates,  10. 

Isotta  of  Eimini,  59. 

Italy,  women  of  the  Eenaissance 
in,  55,  57-68;  women  in,  dur- 
ing the  post-Eenaissance  peri- 
ods, 76-81;  women  mathema- 
ticians in,  142-151;  education 
of  women  in,  210,  295,  296. 


INDEX 


439 


Jacobi,  Dr.  Mary  Putnam,  128. 

Jameson,  Mrs.,  work  of,  in  Chris- 
tian iconography,   313-316. 

Jansen,  Mme.,  196. 

Jaquier,  Pere,  152. 

Jeffrey,  Lord,  91. 

Jenner,  299  footnote. 

Jerusalem  Delivered,  276. 

Jesus  College,  Cambridge,  nun- 
nery of  St.  Radegund  trans- 
formed into,  41. 

Jex-Blake,  Sophia,  physician,  269 
footnote,  305-307. 

Johnson,  Dr.,  98,  113;  quoted, 
410,  412  and  413  footnote, 

Jonson,  Ben,  67. 

Joseph  II  of  Austria,  237. 

Journey  in  Brazil,  by  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Agassiz,  379. 

Joya,  Isabella  de,  68. 

Juana,  daughter  of  Isabella  the^ 
Catholic,  68. 

Julius  II,  309. 

Juvenal,  quoted,  20  footnote,  30. 

Kablick,  Josephine,  242-243. 

Kant,  Immanuel,  on  woman's  in- 
capacity for  mathematics,  136. 

Kaschewarow,  Mme.,  physician, 
304. 

Kelvin,  Lord,  227. 

Kepler,  375. 

Kies,  Mary,  346;  first  United 
States  patent  awarded  to,  344. 

Kingsley,  Charles,  257. 

Kingsley,  George,  257. 

Kingsley,  Mary  H.,  African  ex- 
plorer, 256-258,  264. 

Kirch,  Gottfried,  173. 

Kirch,  Maria,    173,  174. 

Kirchhoff,  Arthur,  investigation 
of,  regarding  intellectual  ca- 
pacity of  women,  129-132. 


Kirwan's  Essay  on  Phlogiston, 
214. 

Klumpke,  Anna,  194. 

Klumpke,  Augusta,  194  footnote, 
290  footnote. 

Klumpke,  Dorothea,  193,  194. 

Klumpke,  Julia,  194. 

Knight,  Miss,  351. 

Koenig,  152. 

Kovalevsky,  Sonya,  133,  161-165, 
397;  weight  of  brain  of,  123 
and  footnote;  studies  of,  in 
Germany,  162 ;  appointment 
of,  to  chair  of  higher  mathe- 
matics, in  University  of  Stock- 
holm, 162,  163;  Prix  Bordin 
won  by,  163. 

Krauss,  Dr.,  313  quoted,  317 
quoted. 

Kronecker,  in  praise  of  Sonya 
Kovalevsky,  164. 

Labe,  Louise,  71. 
La  Bruyiere,  108. 
La    Caze   prize    awarded   to    the 

Curies,  228. 
La      Chappelle,      Mme.      Marie 

Louise,  physician,  293,  294. 
La  Condamine,  262. 
La  Cruz,  Juana  de,  69. 
Lselia,  Cicero's  tribute  to,  23. 
La  Payette,  La  Comtesse  de,  88, 

91. 
La  Fontaine,  88,  172,  173. 
Lagrange,  154,  216. 
La  Harpe,  quoted,  90. 
Lais,  10,  11. 
Lalande,  178,  179;  in  praise  of 

Mme.    Lepaute,    180,    181;    in 

praise     of     Mme.     Lefrancais, 

182. 
Lamartine,  256. 


440 


INDEX 


Lamennais,  de,  quoted,  388. 
Lamy,   M.   fitienne,   quoted,  409, 

410. 
Landi,  Eosanna  Somaglia,  of  Mi- 
lan, 76. 
Langdon,  Fannie  E.,  254. 
Lanzi,  in  praise  of  Suor  Plantilla 

Nelli,  60. 
La  Perse,  La  Chaldie  et  la  Susi- 

ane,  by   Mme.  Dieulafoy,  320 

footnote. 
Laplace,  216,  245. 
Laplace 's     Mechanique     Celeste, 

Mary   Somerville's   translation 

of,  159,  211. 
Lapse   and  Conversion  of  Theo- 

philus,  by  Hroswitha,  45. 
La  Bochefoucauld,  88. 
Lasthenia,  11. 
La  Vigne,  Anne  de,  82. 
Lavoisier,    Mme.    Antoine    Lau- 
rent, 214-216,  225,  362. 
Laws  of  Plato,  15,  16. 
Leavitt,  Henrietta  S.,  195. 
Lebrixa,  Francisca  de,  68. 
Lecky,  on  dissolution  of  convents, 

41. 
Lefebre,  Mme.,  353. 
Le  Fevre,  Tanquil,  82. 
Lefrangais,  Mme.,  182. 
Legendre,  154. 
Legends    of    the    Madonna,    by 

Mrs.  Jameson,  316. 
Legion  of  Honor,  decoration  of, 

refused  by  Pierre  Curie,  227; 

chevalier     of,     conferred      on 

Mme.  Dieulafoy,  321. 
Legrange,  155. 
Leibnitz,  173,   202,  369,  370. 
Leland,  Eva  F.,  195. 
Lemmon,  Sarah  A.  Plummer,  254. 
Leo  X,  59. 
Leontium,  8,  10. 


Leoparda,  physician,  271. 

Lepaute,  Mme.  Hortense,  87, 
362;  achievements  of,  in 
astronomy,  178-182. 

Lepinska,  Melanie,  307  footnote. 

Lespinasse,  Mile.,  89,  90,  91. 

Lewis,  Mrs.  Agnes  Smith,  archae- 
ologist, 327-333. 

Liber  Composites  Medicinal,  by 
St.  Hildegard,  278. 

Liber  Simplicis  Medicines,  by  St. 
Hildegard,  278. 

Liber  Subtilitatum  Diversarum 
Naturarum  Creaturarum,    233. 

Liebig,  217,  247. 

Linnaeus,  300  footnote. 

Lipmann,    Professor,    222. 

Literature,  women  in,  in  ancient 
Greece,  1-18;  in  ancient  Rome, 
27-30;  achievements  of  Paula 
and  Eustochium  in,  31-34; 
achievements  of  women  in,  in 
Italy  during  the  Renaissance, 
58-62 ;  women  of  to-day  in,  406. 

Livia,  24. 

Livingstone,  David,  373,  374. 

Livre  des  Fais  et  Bonnes  Meurs 
du  sage  Boy  Charles  V,  by 
Christine  de  Pisan,  107. 

Livre  des  Faits  d'Armes  et  de 
Chevalerie,  by  Christine  de 
Pisan,  107. 

Lombard,  Peter,  on  equality  of 
woman,  47  footnote. 

Lombroso,  109. 

London  Chemical  Society,  228. 

London,  University  of,  attitude 
of,  toward  women,  54  footnote, 
207,  288,  305. 

Longfellow,  316;  quoted,  379. 

Losa,  Isabella,  68. 

Louis  XII,  59. 


INDEX 


Ml 


Louis  Agassis,  His  Life  and  Cor- 
respondence, 379. 

Louise  of  Saxe-Gotha,  Duchesse, 
178,  179. 

Lungo,  Isidoro  del,  361  footnote. 

Luther,  attitude  of,  toward  wom- 
en, 75. 

Luynes,  Mile,  de,  82. 

Lyceum  of  ancient  Athens,  ad- 
mission of  women  to,  10. 

Lyell,  Mrs.  Charles,  373. 


Mace,  Hanna,  195. 

Machina  Coelestis,  of  Hevilius, 
175. 

Macpherson,  Geraldine,  316  foot- 
note. 

Maintenon,  Mme.  de,  83,  84,  85. 

Maistre,  Count  Joseph  de,  quot- 
ed, 395,  396. 

Malacorona,  Eudolfo,   285,  286. 

Malatesta,  Battista,  62. 

Malvezzi,  Virginia,  298. 

Mangord,  daughters  of,  54. 

Manning,  Mrs.  A.  H.,  352. 

Mantua,  Marchioness  of,  310, 
311. 

Manzolini,  Anna  Morandi,  236- 
238,  298. 

Marburg,  University  of,  294. 

Marcella,  31. 

Marcet,  Mrs.,  372,  373. 

Marchina,  Marta,  78. 

Margaret  of  Navarre,  70. 

Margarita,  physician,  297. 

Maria  Theresa,  Empress,  147. 

Marine  invertebrates,  Mary  Rath- 
bun  's  work  on,  254. 

Marine  life,  Sophia  Pereyaslaw- 
zewa's  study  of,  244,  245. 

Markham,  Clements  R.,  300  foot- 
note. 


Marlow,  67. 
Marmontel,   90. 
Marot,  Clement,  66. 
Marriage,     intellectual     develop- 
ment of  women  and,  412,  415, 

416. 
Martia,  356,  361. 
Martial,  quoted,  20  footnote,  28, 

30. 
' '  Mary  Kingsley  Society  of  West 

Africa,  The,"  258. 
Mary  Stuart,  69. 
Masi,  Ernesto,   208  footnote. 
Mason,  O.  T.,  343  footnote. 
Massachusetts  Institute  of  Tech- 
nology, 217,  220. 
Massalsky,  Princess  Helena  Kol- 

zoff  (Doria  d'Istria),  traveler, 

255. 
Mastellagri,  Maria,  298. 
Matapi,   the,  woman's  invention 

of,  340. 
Materia  medica,  278. 
Mathematics,  women  in,  136-166. 
Mather,  Sarah,  345. 
Matilda,  Abbess  of  Quedlinburg, 

46,  52. 
Matildas  of  Helfta,  49. 
Matteo,  Thomasia  de,  physician, 

297. 
Maupertuis,  152. 
Maury,  Antonia  C,  195. 
Mazois,  Fr.,  312. 
Mazzuchelli,  quoted,  142  footnote. 
Meaux,   C,    288  footnote. 
Mechanique     Celeste,    Laplace 's, 

Mary   Somerville's   translation 

of,  159. 
Mechanism     of     the     Heavens, 

Mary  Somerville 's,  159. 
Medaglia,  Diamante,  142. 
Medical  women  in   Greece,   267- 

271;    in    Rome,    271-274  j    in 


442 


INDEX 


England  and  Germany,  290- 
295. 

Medical  Women — A  Thesis  and 
a  History,  by  Dr.  Sophia  Jex- 
Blake,  307  footnote. 

Medici,  Michele,  237  footnote. 

Medicine,  attitude  of  Italian  and 
Anglo-Saxon  universities  to- 
ward women  students  of,  80; 
women  in,  266-308. 

Medico-Chirurgical  Academy  of 
St.  Petersburg,  304. 

Melanchthon,  daughter  of,  70. 

Memoire  sur  le  Feu,  by  Marquise 
du  Chatelet,  202. 

Memoirs  on  Chemistry,  by  Lavoi- 
sier, 215. 

Memorial  de  VArt  des  Accouche- 
ments,  by  Mme.  Bovin,  294. 

Menagius,  137. 

Menander,  10. 

Mendelssohn,  Fanny,  264. 

Mendelssohn,  Felix,  264,  359. 

Mendoza,  Dona  Maria  Pacheco 
de,  68. 

Mercuriade,  physician,  286. 

Merian,  Dorothea  and  Helena, 
241. 

Merian,  Maria  Sibylla,  naturalist, 
240-242. 

Merriam,  Florence,  254. 

Messia  Castula,  duumvira,  27. 

Metallurgy,  238,  240. 

Metaneira,  10. 

Metcalf,  Betsy,  351. 

Meteorologico  Ozonometric  sta- 
tion at  Eome  organized  by 
Caterina  Scarpellini,  192. 

Metradora,  physician,  270. 

Mexican  National  Museum,  324. 

Meyer,  Ernest  H.  F.,  234  foot- 
note. 


Michaelangelo,  359;  Vittoria  Co- 
lonna  and,  62,  65. 

Michaelis,  312  footnote. 

Michelet,  quoted,  70. 

Middle  Ages,  the  education  of 
women  during,  34-54. 

Mill,  John  Stuart,  109;  on  intel- 
lectual capacity  of  women, 
134;  quoted,  381,  387,  397,  398. 

Miller,  Olive  Thome,  254. 

Milton,  quoted,  99. 

Mineralogy,  238,  256;  Herr  Kab- 
lick's  study  of,  243. 

Minerva,  338. 

Mines,  Denver  School  of,  254. 

Mining,  Mme.  de  Beausoleil's 
treatment  of,  240. 

Mitchell,  Maria,  achievements  of, 
in  astronomy,  191,  192. 

Moliere,  30,  90;  plays  of,  85-87; 
Femmes  Savantes,  and  Pre- 
cieuses  Eidicules  of,  172; 
L'ltcole  des  Femmes  of,  412. 

Molluoca,  254. 

Molza,  Tarquinia,  60. 

Monasteries,  as  centers  of  learn- 
ing in  Middle  Ages,  35. 

Mondino,  237  footnote. 

Monographic  de  Turoellaries  de 
la  Mer  Noire,  by  Sophia  Pere- 
yaslawzewa,  245. 

Montagu,  Lady  Mary  Wortley, 
quoted,   96,  97;    299   footnote. 

Montaigne,  attitude  of,  toward 
women,  75. 

Montalembert,  quoted,  37,   38. 

Montespan,  Mme.  de,  84. 

Montesquieu,  attitude  of,  toward 
women,  93. 

Montmorency,    Charlotte    de,   88. 

Montpensier,  Duchess  of,  84,  87. 

Morandi-Menzolini,  Anna,  79. 


INDEX 


443 


Morati,  Fulvia  Olympia,  62,  70. 

More,  Sir  Thomas,  daughters  of, 
69. 

Morella,  Juana,  68,  69. 

Morphology,  cellular,  254. 

Motherhood,  intellectual  develop- 
ment and,  415,  416. 

Mozart,  359. 

Miiller,  John,  of  Konigsburg, 
170. 

Murat,  Joachim,  311. 

Murfeldt,  Mary  E.,  254. 

Murphy,  Anna.  See  Jameson, 
Mrs. 

Myrtides,  17. 

Myrus,  17. 

Nairne,  Lady,  264. 

Naples,    school    of    medicine    at, 

297. 
Napoleon,    155,    209,    299,    311, 

313;  weight  of  brain  of,  120. 
Natural  sciences,  women  in,  233- 

264. 
Naturalists,  Congress  of,  in  1893, 

245. 
Nautical  Almanac,  Miss  Mitchell, 

compiler  for,  191,  192. 
Navarre,    Pierre    de,   quoted,    45 

footnote. 
Navier,  156. 
Navigation,        Janet        Taylor 's 

works  on,   161. 
Necker,  Mme.,  281  footnote, 
Nelli,  Suor  Plantilla,  60. 
Newnham  College,  100;  Jane  E. 

Harrison's  lectures  at,   332. 

Newton,  202,  207,  209,  371,  384. 

Newtonism    for    Women,    Alga- 

rotti's,  152. 
Newton's  Principia,   206;    Mme. 

du    Chatelet's    translation    of, 

152,  175,  176,  201. 


New  York  Infirmary,  303. 

Nicarete,  11. 

Nightingale,  Florence,  267,  274, 
281  footnote. 

Ninon  de  Lenclos,  11,  90,  92. 

Nobel  prize,  in  chemistry  award- 
ed to  Mme.  Curie  by  King  of 
Sweden,  228 ;  in  physics  award- 
ed to  the  Curies  and  M.  H. 
Becquerel,  228;  won  by  Ma- 
dame Curie,  394. 

Noe-Candedi,  Maddelena,  298. 

Nogorola,    Ginevra,   58   footnote. 

Nogorola,   Isotta,  58  footnote. 

Nossidis,  17. 

Nouvelles  Observations  sur  les 
Abeilles,  by  Francois  Huber, 
372. 

Noves,  Laura  de,  357,  362. 

Nuns,  Anglo-Saxon,  36-42;  Ger- 
man, 43-50 ;  accomplishments 
of,  51;  influence  of,  51-53; 
medical  work  of,  274-281. 

Nur  Mahal,  336. 

Nuttall,  Zelia,  archaeologist,  322- 
324. 

Nutting,  M.  Adelaide,  280  foot- 
note. 

Oclo,  Mama,  inventions  of,  336. 

Octavia,  24. 

Odyssey,     267;      translated     by 

Mme.    Dacier,    82;     quotation 

from,  267. 
On     Curves     and     Surfaces     of 

Higher  Order,  by  Mary  Som- 

erville,  160. 
On    Molecular    and    Microscopic 

Science,  by   Mary    Somerville, 

160,  212. 
On   the    Theory    of   Differences, 

by  Mary  Somerville,  160. 


444 


INDEX 


Opuscula  of  Anna  Maria  von 
Schurman,  95. 

Ordronaux,  J.,  283  and  284  foot- 
note. 

Origenia,  physician,  270. 

Origine  de  l' Homme  et  de  So- 
cietes,  by  Clemence  Royer,  246. 

Orlando  Furioso,  276. 

Ormerod,  Eleanor,  economic  en- 
tomologist, 246-252,  264;  ento- 
mological publications  of,  249- 
250;  important  positions  of, 
251,  252. 

Ornithology,  254. 

Orr,  M.  A.,  196. 

Ostia,  Fabiola's  hospital  at,  272. 

Otto  III,  52. 

Ovid,  5;  in  praise  of  Livia,  24. 

Oxford,  H.  Rashdall,  288  foot- 
note. 

Oxford,  University  of,  funds 
from  suppressed  convents  de- 
voted to,  41,  42;  attitude  of, 
toward  women,  65,  80,  100, 
230. 

Oxygen,  discoveries  of,  216;  dis- 
covery  of,   by  Lavoisier,   216. 

Ozanam,  quoted,  55. 

Padua,  296. 

Padua,  University  of,  Elena  Cor- 

naro  Piscopia  honored  by,  77. 
Palatine,  Princess,  82. 
Paleontology,      Frau     Kablick  's 

study  of,  242-243. 
Palgrave,  comparison   of   Milton 

and  Caedmon  by,   38. 
Pallas  Athene,  inventions  of,  335. 
Palmer,     Mrs.     Margaretta,     of 

Yale,  195. 
Paradise  Lost,  quoted  from,  389. 
Paris,  medical  work  of  women  in, 

288-290,  292;  Faculty  of  Medi- 


cine    in,     opposition     by,     to 

Jacobe  Felicie,  289. 
Parthenay,  Catherine  de,  362. 
Pascal,  82,  113,  140. 
Pascal,    Gilberte    and    Jaqueline, 

82. 
Passions  de  I'Ame  of  Descartes, 

370. 
Pasteur,    Louis,    113,    114,    226, 

247,  248. 
Pasteur,    Mme.,    376,    377,    383 

footnote. 
Patch,  Edith  M.,  254. 
Patents    granted    to    women    in- 
ventors, 344-355. 
Patterson,    Florence   Wambaugh, 

work  in,  254. 
Patterson,    Florence   Wambaugh, 

254. 
Paula,  31-34,  357,  361. 
Pavia,  296 ;  University  of,  degree 

conferred  on  Maria  Pellegrina 

Amoretti  by,  78. 
Peckham,  Elizabeth  W.,  254. 
Pennington,    Lady,     quoted,    98 

footnote. 
Pennsylvania,  University  of,  322. 
Pereyaslawzewa,     Sophia,     biolo- 
gist, 244-245. 
Perez,  Antonio,  68. 
Perez,  Gregoria,  68. 
Perez,  Luisa,  68. 
Pericles,  quoted,  4;   influence  of 

Aspasia  on,  12-14. 
Perictione,  8. 
Perugino,  66. 

Petraccini-Terretti,  Maria,   79. 
Petrarch,  357,  358  footnote. 
Pfeiffer,  Ida,  traveler,  255,  256. 
Phelps,  Almira  Lincoln,  254. 
Phidias,  12. 
Philosophy,  achievements  of  wo 

men  in,  in  ancient  Greece,  8; 


INDEX 


445 


Clemence    Eoyer's    books    on, 
245. 
Phryne,  11. 
Physica,  233,  234. 
Physica,  by  St.  Hildegard,  278. 
Physical     Geography,    by    Mary 
Somerville,   160,  211. 

Physical  power,  relation  of,  to 
mental  energy,  arguments 
based  on,  111-115,  127. 

Physicians,  women,  in  Italy,  295- 
300;  American  attitude  to- 
ward, 300-304;  See  also  Medi- 
cal women. 

Physics,  women  in,  197-213; 
Clemence  Eoyer's  books  on, 
245. 

Physiology,  vegetable,  Florence 
Patterson's  work  in,  254. 

Pierry,  Mme.  du,  178,  179. 

Pindar,  defeated  by  Corinna,  6. 

Pio  Albergo  Trivulzio,  Maria 
Gaetana  Agnesi  in  charge  of, 
149. 

Pioneer  Work  in  Opening  the 
Medical  Profession  to  Women, 
by  Elizabeth  Blackwell,  302 
footnote. 

Pisa,  Leonardo  da,  141. 

Pisan,  Christine  de,  53,  106-108; 
on  intellectual  capacity  of  wo- 
men, 134,  135. 

Piscopia,  Elena  Cornaro,  of  Ven- 
ice, 77,  142,  143. 

Planisphere,  invention  of,  by 
Hypatia,  140,  200. 

Platearius,   John,  284. 

Plato,  10,  11,  137;  in  praise  of 
Sappho,  5;  quoted,  11;  influ- 
ence of  Aspasia  on,  13,  16;  on 
education  of  women,  15,  16; 
on  the  seclusion   of   Athenian 


women,   26,   27;    ideal   of,   of 
equal  rights  for  women,   399. 
Pliny,  270;  quoted,  28,  29. 
Plotinus,  200. 

Plutarch,  22,  167;  quoted,  4  foot- 
note, 95;  in  praise  of  Cornelia, 
26. 
Poetry,   achievements   of  women 

in,  in  ancient  Greece,  5-7;   in 
ancient  Eome,  28;   in  the  Ee- 

naissance,  61,  62. 
Pogson,  Miss,  in  the  Observatory 

of  Madras,  India,  196. 
Poisson,  154. 
Polignac,  Cardinal,  204. 
Politian,  63,  73. 
Political       economy,       Clemence 

Eoyer's  work  in,  245. 
Polonium,  discovery  of,  by  Mme. 

Curie,  223. 
Polydamna,  physician,  267,  268. 
Pompeii,    excavations    of    Queen 

Caroline    at,   311,   312. 
Pope,  98,  113. 
Porcia,  23. 
Portico,  the  admission  of  women 

to,  10. 
Portinari,  Beatrice,  357. 
Poupard,  Mary  E.,  347  footnote. 
Pratique  des  Accouchements,  by 

Mme.  La  Chapelle,  294. 
Praxilla,  6,  17. 
Praxiteles,   11. 
Precieuses  Bidiculee,  of  Moliere, 

30,  85-87,  172. 
Priestly,  216. 
Primitive  Athens  as  Described  by 

Thucydides,  by  Jane  E.  Har- 
rison, 332  footnote. 
Princesse  de  CUves,  91. 
Principia,    Newton's,   Emilie   du 

Chatelet's  translation  of,  152, 

175,  176,  201. 


446 


INDEX 


Principia  Philosophice  of  Des- 
cartes, 369,  370. 

Priscianus,  Theodoras,  271. 

Prix  Bordin,  won  by  S6nya  Ko- 
valevsky,   163. 

Problema  Practicum  of  Anna 
Van  Schurman,  95  footnote. 

Procopius,  277  footnote. 

Proctor,  Mary,  196. 

Proctor,  E.  A.,  196. 

Prodromus  Astronomice,  of  Hev- 
ilius,  175. 

Prolegomena  to  the  Study  of 
Greek  Religion  by  Jane  E. 
Harrison,  332  footnote. 

Prony,  216. 

Proudhon,  111,  245,  334,  338, 
346. 

Psalter,  Latin,  St.  Jerome's  ver- 
sion of,  corrected  by  Paula 
and  Eustochium,  32,  33. 

Psychology,  as  a  basis  of  wo- 
man's equality  with  man, 
399. 

Public  affairs,  woman's  influ- 
ence in,  in  ancient  Eome,  23- 
25. 

Pudentilla,  356. 

Punch,  quoted,  302  footnote. 

Pusey,  E.  B.,  113. 

Putnam,  Mary  C,  physician,  290 
footnote;  304. 

Pythagoras,  137,  197,  199. 

Queensland  Amalie  Dietrich 's 
botanical  work  in,  244. 

Quintilian,  Hortensia  praised  by, 
27. 

Quintus  Maximus,  273. 

Babelais,  57;  attitude  of,  toward 
women,  75. 


Eadcliffe  College,  255. 

Eadium,  discovery  of,  by  the 
Curies,  224. 

Eambouillet,  Marquise  de,  88,  89. 

Eandolph,  Harriet,  254. 

Eaphael's  School  of  Athens,  141. 

Eashdall,  quoted,  55,  56. 

Easponi,  Donna  Felice,  60. 

Eathbun,  Mary  J.,  254. 

Recognitions  of  Clement  trans- 
lated by  Margaret  Gibson,  330 
footnote. 

Eed  Cross,  nurses  of,  308. 

Reduction  and  Arrangement  in 
the  Form  of  Catalogue,  in 
Zones,  of  All  the  Star-clusters 
and  Nebula?  Observed  by  Sir 
TV.  Herschel  in  His  Sweeps,  by 
Caroline  Herschel. 

Reflections  sur  le  Bonheur,  by 
:6milie  du  Chatelet,  153. 

Regimen  Santatis  Salernitanum, 
282. 

Eegiomontanus,  170. 

Bernhardt,    Anna   Barbara,    154. 

Eenaissance,  309,  310;  women 
poets  of,  7;  dates  of,  54-56; 
women  and  education  during, 
54-75;  in  Italy,  55;  literary 
exponents  of,  57;  women  of, 
in  Italy,  57-68;  women  and 
education  following,   76-105. 

Eenan,  in  praise  of  Mme.  Eoyer, 
246. 

Eenaud,  A.,  343  footnote. 

Eenee,  Duchess  of  Ferrara,  65, 
66. 

Eeni,  Guido,  61. 

Eenzi,  S.  de,  287  and  288,  foot- 
note. 

Republic  of  Plato,  15,  16. 

Rerum  Medicarum,  by  Theodoras 
Priscianus,  271. 


INDEX 


447 


Restitution  de  Pluton,  by  Baron- 
ess de  Beausoleil,  238. 

Eetzius,  Prof.,  124. 

Beuss,  Dr.  F.  A.,  quoted  on  St. 
Hildegard,  279. 

Bibera,  Catherine,  68. 

Eichards,  Mrs.  Ellen  H.,  sanitary 
chemist,  217-220. 

Eichelieu,  Cardinal,  88,  94,  239. 

Eingle,  Chevalier,  238. 

Bitter,  Frederic,  363  footnote. 

Bitter,  Karl,  256. 

Eoberval,  172. 

Boccati,  Cristina,  142. 

Eochechouart,   Elizabeth   de,    82. 

Bochechouart,  Gabrielle  de,  82. 

Bohan,  Anne  de,  82. 

Bohan,  Marie-Eleanore  de,  82. 

Bohan,  Princesse  de,  362. 

Bomana,  Francesca  de,  physician, 
286. 

Borne,  ancient  woman  and  edu- 
cation in,  18-34 ;  medical  wo- 
men in,  271-274;  medical  fac- 
ulty of,  297. 

Eonsard,  quoted,  70  footnote. 

Bontgen,  223. 

Eosales,  Isabella,  145. 

Bossi,  Giovanni  Battista  de,  326. 

Bossi,  Properzia  de,  60,  298. 

Bousseau,  413;  quoted,  30  foot- 
note; attitude  of,  toward  wom- 
en, 92,  93. 

Boyal  Agricultural  Society  of 
England,  251. 

"Boyal  Asiatic  Society,"  258. 

Boyal  Astronomical  Society, 
Mary  Somerville  elected  to, 
159;  gold  medal  bestowed  upon 
Caroline  Herschel  by,  186, 
187;  Caroline  Herschel 's  books 
published  by,  186;  Caroline 
Herschel  elected  to,  188. 


Boyal  College  of  Science  for  Ire- 
land, comparative  standing  of 
men  and  women  in,   128,  129. 

Boyal  Historical  and  Archaeologi- 
cal Association  of  Ireland,  316. 

Boyal  Institution  of  Great  Brit- 
ain, 228. 

Boyal  Irish  Academy,  election  of 
Caroline  Herschel  to,  189. 

Boyal  Society  of  Great  Britain, 
attitude  of,  toward  women, 
230,  393,  394. 

Boyal  Swedish  Academy,  228. 

Boyer,  Clemence  Augustine, 
scientist,  245-246. 

Budolphine  Tables,  Maria  Cu- 
nitz's  abridgment  of,  171. 

Biimker,  Mme.,  191. 

Busticana,  356. 

Buteboeuf,  in  praise  of  Trotula, 
285. 

Eyssel,  Professor  V.,  331  foot- 
note. 

Sabatier,  Paul,  359  footnote. 

Sabbadini,   quoted,    59    footnote. 

Sabliere,  Mme.  de  la,  171-173. 

Sacred  and  Legendary  Art  by 
Mrs.  Jameson,  313,  315,  316. 

St.  Andrews,  University  of,  332. 

St.  Augustine,  212. 

St.  Boniface,  39. 

St.  Clara,  358,  359,  361. 

St.  Cyr,  Institut  de,  83,  84,  85. 

Saint-Evremond,  88,  390. 

St.  Hilda,  Abbess  of  Whitby,  36- 
39. 

St.  Hildegard,  Abbess  of  the 
Convent  of  St.  Bupert,  45-48, 
233-235;  knowledge  of  astron- 
omy of,  169,  170;  as  physi- 
cian,   277-281. 

St.  Jerome,  31-33;    quoted,   273. 


448 


INDEX 


St.  Jerome's  Vulgate,  3Jtf. 

St.  John  of  Beverly,  37. 

St.  John's  College,  Cambridge, 
endowment  of,  by  funds  from 
suppressed  convents,  41,  42. 

St.  Lioba,  Abbess  of  Bishops- 
heim,  39,  40. 

St.  Nicerata,  physician,  272. 

St.  Eadegund,  Abbess  of  Poi- 
tiers, 36. 

St.  Theodosia,  physician,  272. 

Salerno,  53,  54  footnotes,  296. 

Salerno,  University  of,  281-288; 
women  as  students  and  profes- 
sors of  medicine  in,  80,  281- 
288. 

Salons,  French,  88-92. 

Samarium,  discovery  of,  219. 

Sand,  George,  246,  264. 

Sanitation,  study  of,  by  Mrs. 
Ellen  H.  Bichards,  217-220. 

Sapienza,  chair  in,  offered  to 
Marta  Marchina,  78. 

Sappho,  5-8,  17. 

Sarti,  298. 

Satire  contre  les  Femmes,  Boi- 
leau's,  172. 

Saussure,  de,  215. 

Savari,  Mme.  Pauline,  231  foot- 
note. 

Saxony,  privileges  of  abbesses  in, 
52. 

Scala,  Alessandra,  59. 

Scarpellini,  Caterina,  192. 

Scarpellini,  Feliciano,    192. 

Scheele,  216. 

Schiffi,  Chiara.    See  St.  Clara. 

Schiller,  113. 

Schliemann,  Dr.  Henry,  317,  318, 
319. 

Schliemann,  Mme.  Sophia,  archae- 
ologist, 317,  318,  319,  362. 

Scholasticism,  233, 


School  of  Athens,  Eaphael's,  141. 

Schopenhauer,  111,  414. 

Schubert,  359. 

Schumann,  359. 

Scipio  Africanus,  Cornelia, 
daughter  of,  22. 

Scott,  Miss  Charlotte  Angas,  166. 

Scudery,  Madeleine  de,  88,  91. 

Scutari,  274. 

Sebastopol,  biological  station  at, 
244. 

Select  Narratives  of  Eoly  Wo- 
men translated  by  Agnes 
Lewis,  331  footnote. 

Selenographia  of  Hevilius,  175. 

Se-ling-she,  invention  of  silk  by, 
336. 

Semiramis,   341  footnote. 

Serment,  Louise,  82. 

Servilia,  23. 

SevignS,  Mme.  de,  88. 

Seymour,  Anne,  Margaret  and 
Jane,  69. 

Shakespeare,  57,  67. 

Sheldon,  J.  M.  Arms,  254. 

Shelley,  67. 

Sidonius,  Caius  Apollinaris,  356. 

Siebold,  Carlotta  von,  physician, 
292. 

Siebold,  Regina  Joseph  von,  phy- 
sician, 292. 

Sigea,  Luisa,  69. 

Silk- worms,  Frau  Merian's  work 
on,  242. 

Simms,  Dr.  Joseph,  120. 

Sir  Isumbras,  275. 

Sixtus  IV,  Pope,  297,  309. 

Skull,  relation  of  size  of,  to  men- 
tal energy,  arguments  based 
on,  115-117. 

Slosson,  Annie  T.,  254. 

Small-pox,  prevention  of,  299 
footnote. 


INDEX 


449 


Smith,  Emily  A.,  254. 

Smith,  Sydney,  quoted,  92,  4X3 
footnote. 

Smithsonian  Institute,  323. 

Snow,  Dr.  Julia  W.,  254. 

Social  and  economic  conditions, 
intellectual  growth  of  women 
and,  405,  406. 

Socrates,  199,  200;  tribute  of,  to 
Diotima  of  Mantinea,  11;  in- 
fluence of  Aspasia  on,  12,  13, 
16;  woman's  equality  with 
man  asserted  by,  15,  16. 

Solomon,  quoted,  336. 

Solon,  in  praise  of  Sappho,  5. 

Some  Pages  of  the  Four  Gospels 
Betranscribed  from  the  Sina- 
itic  Palimpsest,  by  Agnes 
Lewis,  330  footnote. 

Somerville,  Mary,  157-161,  211, 
391,  392;  early  life  of,  157, 
158;  translation  of  Laplace's 
Mechanique  Celeste  by,  159; 
honors  of,  159,  160;  books  by, 
160,  211,  212;  home  life  of, 
161;  election  of,  to  Royal  As- 
tronomical Society,  188,  189; 
achievements  of,  in  astronomy, 
190,  211,  212;  death  of,  212. 

Somerville,  Rev.  Dr.,  158. 

Sophia  Charlotte,  Queen  of  Prus- 
sia, 370,  371. 

Sophocles,  12. 

Sorbonne,  lectures  of  Mme.  Curie 
at,  227. 

South  America,  Mme.  Coudreau's 
explorations  in,  258-263. 

Spain,  women  of  the  Renaissance 

in,  68,  69. 
Spalding,  Most  Rev.  Archbishop 
J.    L.,    quoted,    413    and    414 
footnote. 
Spanheim,  94. 


Specialization     in    scientific    re- 
search, 408,  409. 
Spectator,  306. 
Spencer,  Herbert,  2,  113. 
Spenser,  67. 

Spiegelberg,  Moritz  von,  62. 
Spilimbergo,   Irene  di,   61   foot- 
note. 
Stael,  Mme.  de,  89,  91,  246;  Mar- 
quise du  Chatelet  ridiculed  by, 
177. 
Stampa,  Gaspara,  61. 
Steele,  98. 

Stephens,  Mabel  C,  195. 
Steppes  de  la  Mer  Caspienne,  by 
Mme.  Hommaire  de  Hell,  373. 
Stevenson,  Sarah   Yorke,   archae- 
ologist, 322,  323. 
Stilpo,  11. 

Stockholm,  University  of,  ap- 
pointment of  Sonya  Koval- 
evsky  to  chair  of  higher  mathe- 
matics in,  162,  183;  S6nya 
Kovalevsky's  lectures  at,  164 
footnote. 
Stotes,    Margaret,    archaeologist, 

316,  317. 
Strindberg,  163,  165. 
Strozi,  Lorenza,  59. 
Studia  Sinaitica,  330. 
Suetonius,  quoted,  19. 
Suidas,  200. 
Sulpicia,  28. 

Supellex  Manzoliniana,  237. 
Surgery,  women  in,  266-308. 
Surinam,  insects  of,  Frau  Mer- 

ian's  bodk  on,  240-241. 
Survey  of  the  Heavens,  by  Sir 

William  Herschel,  187. 
Suslowa,      Nadejda,      physician, 

304. 
Sviani,  Elisabetta,  298. 


450 


INDEX 


Swallow,    Ellen.      See    Richards, 

Mrs.  Ellen  H. 
Swammerdam,  248. 
Swetchine,  Mme.,  89. 
Swift,  98,  quoted,  98  footnote. 
Symbols  and  Emblems  of  Early 

Mediosval     Christian     Art     by 

Louise  Twining,  316. 
Symonds,  J.  A.,  113. 
Synesius,    bishop    of    Ptolemais, 

141,  168,  199,  200. 


Tacitus,  24,  25,  28. 

Taine,  comparison  of  Milton  and 
Csedmon  by,  38. 

Taj  Mahal,  337  footnote. 

Tambroni,  Clotilda,  professor  of 
Greek,  78,  79,  209,  298. 

Tasso,  Torquato,   66. 

Taylor,  Janet,  161. 

Telesilla,  6,  17. 

Tencin,  Mme.,  92. 

Tennyson,  quoted,  416,  417. 

Terentia,  356,  361. 

Tertulla,  23. 

Thais,  11. 

Theano,  8,  17,  199,  269. 

Themista,  8. 

Theodicy,  by  Leibnitz,  371. 

Theodora,  359. 

Theon,  137,  168,  199. 

Thucydides,  quoted,  4  footnote. 

Thurm,  Christopher,  174. 

Tiberius,  wife  of,  24. 

Tides  of  the  Ocean  and  Atmos- 
phere, The,  by  Mary  Somer- 
ville,  212. 

Tischendorf,  328,  329. 

Titian,  61,  footnote,  66. 

TraitS  de  Chimie,  by  Lavoisier, 
215. 

TraiU  d'Horlogerie,  179. 


TraitS     de     Badio-ActivitS,     by 

Mme.  Curie,  228. 
Travelers,  women,  255-264. 
Travels  in  West  Africa,  by  Mary 

H.  Kingsley,  257. 
Treat,  Mary,  254. 
Trinity  college,  Dublin,  100. 
Tristan  und  Isolde,  by  Godfrey 

of  Strasburg,  276. 
Trombetas,  explored  by  Madame 

Coudreau,  258. 
Trotula    of    Salerno,    physician, 

284-286,  296,  297,  299. 
Tulia,  letters  of,  29. 
Turgenieff,   weight   of  brain   of, 

119. 
Twining,     Louise,     archaeologist, 

316. 
Tyndall,  385. 
Types  and  Figures  of  the  Bible 

Illustrated  by  Art,  by  Louise 

Twining,  316. 

United  States,  women  in,  in  post- 
Renaissance  period,  99,  100; 
women  mathematicians  in, 
166;  women  astronomers  in, 
195;  famous  women  natural- 
ists in,  253-255;  women  phy- 
sicians in,  300-304;  education 
in,  401,  402. 

United  States  National  Museum, 
254. 

Universities,  of  England,  Scot- 
land and  Ireland,  attitude  of, 
toward  women,  100,  101;  of 
Germany  open  to  women,  101; 
European,  women  as  profes- 
sors in,  102;  coeducational, 
comparative  standing  of  men 
and  women  in,  128,  129. 

Universities,  Italian,  attitude  of, 
toward  women,  57,  58;  women 


INDEX 


451 


in,  during  the  Renaissance,  62- 
65;  women  professors  in,  78- 
80;  attitude  of,  toward  wo- 
men, compared  with  that  of 
Anglo-Saxons,   80. 

Urania,  muse  of  astronomy,  167. 

Urania  Propitia,  by  Maria  Cu- 
nitz,  171. 

Urbino,  court  of,  66,  67. 

Urbino,  Duchess  of,  310,  311. 

Urbino,  University  of,  62. 


Vaccination,   299  footnote. 

Yaliae,  physician,   272. 

Van  Schurman,  Anna  Maria,  94, 

95. 
Vasari,  in  praise  of  Suor  Plan- 

tilla  Nelli,  60. 
Vasca  de  Gama,  56. 
Vasourie,  236. 
Vassar,  Matthew,  100. 
Vassar    College,    100,    192,    216, 

253. 
Vatican,  309. 
Vega,  Lopez,  68. 
Veitch,   Professor   John,    quoted, 

382,  383  footnote. 
Venerable  Bede,  quoted,  37,  38. 
Verronese,    Guarino,    58    and    59 

footnote. 
Vico,  Father  de,  191. 
Victoria,  physician,  271. 
Victoria,  Queen,  316. 
Viete,  Francois,  362. 
Vigri,  Caterina,   60  footnote. 
Virchow,  Eudolph,  117,  278. 
Virgil,  quoted,  112,  335. 
Vis  viva,  views  of  Marquise  du 

Chatelet  on,  202. 
Vita  Nuova,  by  Dante,  357. 
Vitalis,  Ordericus,  285. 
Vives,  Juan,  68,  69,  73,  75. 


Voet,  94. 

Voght,  246. 

Voiture,  88. 

Voltaire,  89,  117;  attitude  of, 
toward  women,  93;  ismilie  du 
Chatelet  and,  151,  153,  178 
and  179  footnote;  quoted  175, 
206,  334,  346;  election  of,  to 
the  Bologna  Academy,  207; 
letters  of,  to  Laura  Bassi,  207. 

Voyage  d  la  Mapuerd,  by  Mme. 
Coudreau,  263  footnote. 

Voyage  au  Cumind,  by  Mme. 
Coudreau,  263  footnote. 

Voyage  au  Itaboca  et  d  I' Eta- 
cayuna,  by  the  Coudreaux,  263 
footnote. 

Voyage  au  Maycuru,  by  Madame 
Coudreau,  262  and  263  foot- 
note. 

Voyage  au  Bio  Curud,  by  Ma- 
dame Coudreau,  262  and  263 
footnote. 

Voyage  au  Tapaos,  by  the  Cou- 
dreaux, 263  footnote. 

Voyage  au  Tocantins- Araguaya, 
by  the  Coudreaux,  263  foot- 
note. 

Voyage  au  Trombetas,  by  Ma- 
dame Coudreau,  258,  263  foot- 
note. 

Voyage  au  Xingu,  by  the  Cou- 
dreaux, 263  footnote. 

Voyage  entre  Tocantins  et 
Xingu,  et  Voyage  au  Ya- 
munda,  by  the  Coudreaux,  263 
footnote. 

Vulgate,  357;  assistance  of 
Paula  and  Eustochium  in  prep- 
aration of,  32. 

Wagner,  Rudolph,  120. 
Wallace,  Robert,  252  footnote. 


452 


INDEX 


Walpole,  Horace,  89;  quoted,  97 
footnote. 

Waltharius,  by  Ekkehard,  276. 

Warsaw,  221. 

Watson,  Sir  William,  quoted,  184. 

Weber,  359. 

Wells,  Louisa  D.,  195. 

West  African  Studies,  by  Mary 
H.  Kingsley,  257. 

Westwood,  248. 

Wheeler,  Miss  B.  E.,  archaeolo- 
gist, 321. 

Whewell,  Dr.,  160. 

Whiting,  Sarah  F.,  of  Wellesley, 
195. 

Whitney,  Eli,  352. 

Whitney,  Mary  W.,  of  Vassar, 
195. 

Wilhelm  II,  attitude  of,  toward 
women,  94. 

William  of  Auxerre,  in  praise  of 
St.  Hildegard,  47,  48. 

Williams,  Blanche  E.,  archaeolo- 
gist, 321. 


Winckelmann,  311. 
Winlock,  Anna,  195. 
Wisdom,  by  Perictione,  8. 
Woman  Under  Monasticism,  Eck- 

enstein's,  52. 
Women    in    English    Life,     by 

Georgiana  Hill,  41. 
Wordsworth,  quoted,  372. 
Wordsworth,  Dorothy,  372. 
Worms,  Fannie  Langdon's  study 

of,  254. 
Wurzburg,  University  of,  279. 

Xenophon,  quoted,  4;  25. 

Young,  Annie  S.,  of  Mt.  Holyoke, 

195. 
Young,  Arthur,  214. 

Zoology,    Herr    Kablick's    study 

of,  243. 
Zoyosa,  Casa,  59  footnote. 
Zurich,  University  of,  244,  304. 


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